Never Let It Show
by SlightlyEuphoric
Summary: Someone at McKinley High is on a killing spree, and it looks like Santana is next on their list. M for language, violence, and sexual content. Brittana pairing.
1. Number Seven

Well i recently decided to dip my toe into the writing pool, so this is my first fanfic. I hope you guys find it enjoyable because I enjoy writing it. And I apologize if any typos and/or grammar mistakes still made it past my numerous proofreads. :)

**Title**: Never Let It Show

**Summary**: Someone at McKinley High is on a killing spree. And it looks like Santana is next on their list.

**Rating**: M

**Warning**: There will be elements such as sexual content, strong language, and violence in later chapters. Possible character death. Haven't decided yet as this is only the first chapter, but just to be safe..

**Pairings**: Brittana of course. :)

**Spoilers**: Season 2 & 3

**Disclaimer**: Unfortunately, I do not own Glee or it's characters. I'm just a girl who loves to write.

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><p><strong>-1-<strong>

**Number Seven**

"Brittany! Get your ass in the car!" the fiery Latina yelled out to the blonde who had stopped on the sidewalk to save a caterpillar from an army of ants. Santana couldn't be late to school anymore or she would be forced to attend a truancy prevention program and pay a fine. And Brittany was almost always the cause of her tardiness. Brittany quickly bounded to the car once the caterpillar was safe. As she glided into the seat next to the girl who was yelling at her ten seconds prior, she saw her smiling at her with adoration.

"Hi girlfriend," Santana beamed. She couldn't help it. Brittany was just so darn cute.

"Hi girlfriend," the blonde returned as she leaned over to plant a light kiss on her girlfriend's lips.

"You ready?" Santana asked as she handed the blonde a fresh cup of coffee.

"For school or to drink coffee?" she asked with a puzzled expression. Santana just chuckled as she pulled out from in front of the Pierce house.

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><p>The girls drove to school in high spirits. Things had become so much easier between the two since Santana went public with their relationship. The occasional look or spiteful comment didn't even affect her anymore, because she knew Brittany was happy. Though she made sure to tear them down until they were close to tears anyways, just so they remember she was still head bitch. But the only person that mattered to her was the girl in the seat next to her. And as long as Brittany was happy, so was she.<p>

Brittany noticed Santana humming along to the radio and felt her heart flutter. She loved when her girlfriend was in good moods like this and lately it's been a regular thing, even though no one besides Brittany was able to see it. But she was okay with that. She loved being the one person Santana could let her guard down with. It made her feel special.

As Santana pulled into her parking space she noticed Brittany studying her with a loving smile on her face. Santana blushed at the attention.

"What?" she giggled nervously. The blonde's smile just widened at her girlfriend's uncharacteristic shyness.

"I just love you," she said simply, still grinning, as she leaned in to press her lips against the brunette. Santana met them happily as she melted into Brittany's soft lips. They felt like rose petals and she relished in the feel of them brushing against hers. She felt Brittany deepen the kiss and didn't even hesitate as she climbed over to straddle Brittany as the overeager blonde reclined the seat to accommodate her actions. Santana closed any space that dared to come between her and Brittany as she was immersed in the girl's sweet scent. She felt Brittany's arm wrap around her waist and twist them gracefully so that Brittany was now on top. The blonde's tongue danced across her bottom lip seeking entrance, and Santana immediately granted her access. As her silky tongue slid in next to hers, she felt her center start to throb with need. She mentally cursed herself for being so easily aroused. She knew they didn't have time for what she now desperately needed. It took everything she had to pull away from the gorgeous dancer who automatically moved to the Latina's neck, making a trail of butterfly kisses up to her ear. _Sooo not helping_, Santana thought to herself.

"Babe..." Santana breathed, right before emitting a soft moan as the blonde started kissing and nibbling on her ear.

"Yes, love?" Brittany whispered sweetly into her ear.

_ Goddammit. This girl is gonna be the death of me_. She cleared her throat and tried again. "We should probably stop," she stated with absolutely no conviction. She felt Brittany's warm breath against her neck as she let out a soft chuckle.

"You sure about that?" Brittany inquired of her girlfriend as she started trailing open-mouthed kisses down her throat, causing her girlfriend to let out an involuntary moan.

"No," the brunette sighed contently as she submitted to the feel of the girl's mouth on her neck. Brittany moved back up for a kiss and Santana felt the blonde's lips smiling against hers. _God I'm whipped_, she thought. Brittany slid her tongue back through the Latina's luscious lips and started exploring. Santana was fighting herself to give in to her body's desire as she felt her girlfriend's hands slip under her shirt and run her long fingers across her taut abdomen. But she knew if she was late to class again, her mother would make sure she didn't see Brittany at all. She didn't care that Santana was a lesbian. In fact, she didn't care much about Santana at all. But she wasn't going to have a delinquent daughter. Because that looked bad on her. Even more so than Santana's sexual preference.

"Okay Britt, for real. We need to stop," she said this time with a force behind her words. Brittany let out a frustrated groan as she reluctantly pulled away from the beautiful Latina.

"I know," Santana added empathetically, "but you'll be groaning a lot more when my mother moves me across the country." With that the cheerio flung the car door open, leapt outside, and pulled Santana out of the car with a speed she didn't even know her girlfriend was capable of.

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><p>They walked through the front doors of the school giggling and out of breath. But their smiles faded when they noticed the state of the students that were occupying the hallway. Everyone was gathered in their various groups muttering things the girls couldn't hear with fear and confusion in their eyes. It didn't take Santana long to recognize those familiar expressions.<p>

"Oh no.. not again," Santana muttered slowly, to no one in particular. It was like a blissful dream making a violent turn to a recurring nightmare.

"What's going on San? Why does everyone look so scared?" Brittany asked quietly as she shied into her girlfriend's side.

"It's okay babe. Everything's gonna be okay," she tried to soothe the girl's fears as she rubbed a comforting hand across her back. "Let me just find out what's going on."

She laced her fingers through Brittany's and started down the hallway in search of a familiar face. She spotted Quinn halfway down the hall getting books out of her locker. She approached her friend slowly; trying to prolong the information she was about to receive as long as she could.

"Hey Quinn," she said cautiously to the blonde who looked about ten shades paler than normal.

"Hey San," she returned, lost in thought. Santana felt dread trickle through her body at the girl's distressed state. She didn't even need to ask what happened. There was only one thing she needed to know.

"Who was it this time?" Santana asked hesitantly. At this Quinn turned to look at the two girls who had to be the last ones to know the dark news.

"Lauren Zizes," she breathed.

Santana felt her breath catch in her throat at the familiar name. There had to be a mistake. Lauren Zizes was the last girl she would've guessed to have become the latest victim. Sure, they weren't exactly buddies but Santana secretly respected her for her aggressive manner and bull-headed ways. That girl didn't take shit from anyone, much like herself.

"Dammit," the Latina muttered. Her head was reeling as she registered this new information.

It all started about four months ago. Riley Campbell was the first. She was a freshman on the varsity swim team. She was missing for three days before she was found in a dumpster in an alleyway after being brutally murdered. The whole school was in absolute shock. McKinley High had never seen anything like it. Then came the second murder. Carrie Matthews. Junior, MVP of the varsity soccer team. Also gone three days before found in a ditch on the side of the road. Then it was Jessy Bates. Senior, captain of our state champion softball team. Found four days after her disappearance. By then McKinley High was in a constant state of fear at the realization that there was a serial killer in Lima that was targeting high school students, and could very well be a student themselves. And the victims kept pilling up. Kylie McDonald, sophomore class president. Shelby Martin, senior debate club president. Aspen Hargrove, promising sophomore cheerio. Now Lauren Zizes. She was number seven.

According to the officials, the girls had been tortured for a period of time before the killer tossed them and moved on to the next victim, and that the amount of torture they went through increased with each victim. That must be why they disappear for a while before their bodies turn up. Santana's stomach churned at the thought of what those poor girls went through.

"They found her body around midnight last night," Quinn stated pulling Santana from her thoughts. "Just laying on a park bench," she whispered with wide eyes.

"I didn't even hear about her going missing," Brittany added in shock.

"No one did. Lauren always skipped school for days at a time. No one thought anything of it. Her mom said that Lauren had told her she was staying with a friend all week," Quinn stated.

"What friend?" Santana asked.

"No one knows. I guess her mom didn't care enough to ask," she said sadly.

"Some mom," the Latina muttered bitterly, thinking of her own negligent mother, as the warning bell sounded overhead.

"Yeah," Quinn added as she shut her locker. "Well I'll see you guys later I guess," the blonde said wistfully, settling back into her distressed condition as she walked off to class.

"Later Q," Santana said after her, though she knew the girl was already too deep into her own thoughts to hear her. She felt herself getting pulled into her own mind as well. This was all too much. So she offered her girlfriend a small smile and a squeeze of the hand before parting ways. It was all she could manage.

_How is this happening?_ She thought to herself as she settled into the seat of her first period English class. She felt something in her pocket and realized her phone was vibrating. She pulled it out and looked at it. One new message. After clicking view message, she felt a wave of terror course through her body as she read the words: _You're next._

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><p>So what do you think? Whether it's praise or constructive criticism, I would love to hear your thoughts so please review. Reassurance would be nice since it is my first fanfic and I'm a little unsure of my work... but I digress. No pressure.<p> 


	2. Therapy

**A/N** First i want to say thank you to those of you who favorited my story or put it on their story alert, and especially to those who reviewed. I take every word you guys write into account. It means everything to hear my work is being appreciated, much less read, so thank you.

Now i know this chapter came pretty quickly but don't get used to it. I just got considerably busier cuz classes just started. Yay college life. But rest assured, i will be writing diligently whenever i can.

But anyways, for this chapter I wanted to have some fluff before everything starts to get heavy so enjoy this one. And there is some sweet lady lovin' so be warned. ;) And again, i apologize for any errors. Happy reading!

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><p><strong>-2-<strong>

**Therapy****  
><strong>

_You're next_. Santana stared at the words in shock. Her mind was all over the place. She didn't know what to do. Should she pretend like nothing's happened? Should she run and yell to anyone that would listen? Should she try and track down the son of a bitch herself? She ran through her different options frantically. _But wait... this might not even be the real killer_, she thought. She let out a breath of relief. Of course it wasn't, it couldn't be. She racked her brain to try and think of who could've sent the text and came up with one conclusion. She slid her phone up to write her response.

_Shouldnt u be busy screwing some nursing home residents noah?_ She sent it directly to his phone instead of the number on her screen, figuring he was using a friend's phone or something. She couldn't believe she didn't think of Puck sooner. She had forgotten about his previous attempt to scare her. The cryptic call came after the second killing. And it had freaked her out a bit, though she would never admit it. But it was short-lived as she had decided to do the whole *69 bit during glee club. She wasn't too surprised to find out it was Puck though. He's the only twisted bastard that would be pranking people in times like these. She was drawn back to her phone as she received a new text.

_Whoa whoa easy, i was just messin with u. And besides, i dont go above 40 anymore.. Anyways r u and britt going to jeremys party tonight?_ She finished reading and immediately rolled her eyes at his insensitivity. The guy was unbelievable. Here his ex was just murdered and he's ready to party it up. But then again, it was Puck..

_Who the hell goes to parties these days?_ she replied, as the teacher started droning on about their next writing assignment. His reply came quick.

_The kinda ppl who need a distraction._ She sat on that for a while. The man had a point. It would be nice to forget about the shitiness of their reality if only for one night. Brittany needed the distraction as well, she decided. Someone so full of light shouldn't have to deal with these dark times.

_Count us in_, she wrote, hoping her girlfriend would be up for it. She wouldn't go if Brittany didn't want to, no matter how much she was now looking forward to it.

"I'm sorry Santana, am I distracting you from your pressing social life?" Mr. Burns called out from the front of the class. The Latina snapped her eyes up from her cell phone and glared at him through her eyelashes as all the students turned to her in anticipation for her reply.

"Actually yeah," she retorted, crossing her arms over her chest and slapping on her signature bitch face. "And that awful tie isn't helping either. I can't even look at your face right now because its so distracting. It looks like Walt Disney threw up all over it," she said matter-of-factly as she stared at the English teacher's colorful tie that was covered in busy patterns. She knew the guy was new, but surely he should know not to challenge the fiery Latina by now. He never won.

"That was pretty creative Santana. It's too bad you can't channel that creativity into your assignments," he countered.

"It's also too bad you can't seem to find an outfit that doesn't suggest that you still live with your mother," she returned simply as the rest of the class struggled to suppress their laughter. Santana lived for confrontations like these and was somewhat disappointed when Mr. Burns gave up with a chuckle and a nod of his head and continued with the lesson.

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><p>The rest of the day everyone walked around school like zombies as a chilling reminder of what had happened, making it impossible for Santana to put it out of her mind. Brittany had barely spoken ten words to her since this morning. Santana was now convinced a party was extremely appropriate. Necessary even.<p>

And of course cheerio practice was as brutal as ever, which made it drag even more, so when Coach finally blew her whistle and screamed at them to go wash the failure off of their smelly meat suits, she raced to the locker room to quickly rinse off and change. She waited for Brittany to finish getting her stuff together before offering the blonde her pinky as they walked silently to her car.

When they were settled into their seats Santana turned to the blonde.

"Hey," she said quietly as she placed her hand on top of her girlfriend's, rubbing the pad of her thumb along her soft hand. "You okay?"

"I just don't understand how people can be so cruel," she said softly. Santana's heart broke slightly at the sight of the girl, usually shining like the sun, now sitting there looking so hopeless.

"Not everyone's like that Britt-Britt. There are a lot of good people too. The ones that make life worth it," the Latina paused before adding with a small smile, "..People like you." She finished the last word with a light tap to Brittany's nose. With that, Brittany slowly lifted her eyes to meet Santana's as her crooked grin that Santana loved so much slowly crept onto her face. She leaned forward and planted a light kiss on the blonde's forehead, hoping she had done enough to brighten her girlfriend's spirits at least a little. She couldn't bear to see her so dispirited any longer.

"You okay now?" Santana tried again as she searched the blondes face for a sign of anymore sorrow.

"Yeah, I'm okay," she replied with content. Santana always knew how to make her feel better. "Let's go home."

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><p>They pulled up to Santana's empty house several minutes later. She had to admit, it was quite convenient not having her parents around, as it gave the girls freedom to do whatever they wanted. Her father was always busy working at the hospital. She only saw him in passing each morning while he was getting his coffee. And her mom would go away on "business trips" for weeks at a time and come back with tanned skin and sun-bleached hair. As messed up as it was, she learned to stop looking for love and affection from her parents years ago. But she took comfort in knowing that she would always have Brittany. And she was all she needed.<p>

They walked through the front door and into the spacious foyer of the Lopez's exquisite house and Santana punched in their security code. Her dad was a bit of a freak when it came to home security. She assumed it was so her parents could start leaving her by herself all day at the ripe age of eleven. He had gotten a high tech security system installed and security cameras in every room, besides the bathrooms of course. Though she had made sure that the one in her room was removed years ago. The girls headed to the kitchen to grab some waters and their usual snacks before going upstairs to Santana's room. Brittany plopped herself down on the large bed with her goldfish and gummy bears and started pulling out her homework. Santana settled down beside her on her stomach, laying her homework and Flamin' Hot Cheetos out in front of her. They worked for about an hour in deafening silence, before Santana decided it was time to bring up the party.

"Hey Britt?" she asked and waited for a reply to make sure she had the blonde's attention.

"Yeah?" she replied, still writing.

"Wanna go to a party tonight?" she asked, carefully watching the girl's reaction. Brittany stopped writing and her brow furrowed slightly.

"A party?" she repeated, taken aback.

"Yeah. That Jeremy kid is having a party at his house and I thought maybe we could go," Santana explained.

"I don't know San. I don't feel much like partying," Brittany decided.

"But that's exactly why we need to go," Santana urged her. "It'll be like therapy," she added as an afterthought.

"And therapy is good, right?" Brittany checked with the brunette.

"Right," Santana assured her with a wide smile. Brittany thought about it for a while before that crooked smile emerged once again.

"Okay let's do it," she said with excitement rising in her voice. Santana immediately threw her arms around her girlfriend's neck and planted a kiss on her cheek.

"Thanks babe. I really think this'll be good for us," she said excitedly and Brittany nodded in agreement. "Okay. Well then I'm gonna get a real shower in before we go. I still feel gross from practice," she stated. She rose from the plush bed and walked slowly towards her bathroom leaving a trail of clothes in her stead and flashed Brittany a come and get me grin over her bare shoulder before disappearing through the doorway.

Brittany stared after the gorgeous Latina in awe. She felt like the luckiest girl in the world because Santana was all hers. The girl she has loved since freshman year. Her best friend since childhood. Her soulmate. She tried to think of a word greater than love, because love didn't seem to be enough anymore. She was so lost in her search that she forgot that Santana was in the next room, now soaking wet, waiting to be ravished. That was until Santana's loud voice broke her concentration.

"Brittany Pierce! Get your hot piece of ass in this shower right now!" Santana called out.

Brittany leapt off of the bed in a fit of giggles as she ran into the bathroom. She shed her clothing in record time as she slid inside the shower to join her girlfriend.

"Well it's about time," the brunette said playfully before closing the distance between her and the beautiful dancer. She sealed their lips together in a passionate kiss and Brittany hungrily met them. Their lips moved together fluidly and hands started exploring. Brittany lightly pushed the intoxicating Latina against the shower wall, and stopped for a moment to take in the sight of her gorgeous girlfriend. She followed the small trails of water that were trickling down her lovely curves. She took in her smooth caramel colored skin, and her taut body all glossy with moisture. She studied her flawless face, lingering on that perfect mouth of hers before finally coming to rest on her deep mocha orbs that were filled with nothing but love. Brittany's heart swelled. She had given Brittany her heart completely, and it was all Brittany could ever want. She felt her eyes gloss over as she was overcome with emotion. Santana seemed to understand what the blonde was feeling as she slowly raised her hand for Brittany to take. She entwined their fingers together and gently pulled her girlfriend towards her, still holding her gaze.

"I love you so much Brittany Susan Pierce," she said as her eyes sparkled.

"And I love you Santana Marie Lopez," Brittany returned. They smiled brightly at one another before the Latina spoke once more.

"Now are we gonna get our mack on or what?" she asked with a playful wink.

Brittany giggled before crashing their lips together to finish what they started, pinning Santana against the shower wall. The water flowed over them as they enjoyed the feel of each other's lips and wet bodies pressed together. Santana broke the kiss to catch her breath, and Brittany started planting slow, open-mouthed kisses down her throat and made her way down to her chest, right above the curvature of her breasts. She moved her hands up and started kneading each breast as she kissed the sides of them, smiling inwardly at the sounds she was causing her girlfriend to make. She then moved her hand down to the base of her breast as she took it into her mouth. She nipped and sucked at the Latina's now erect nipple, before moving on to the next one.

"Oh Britt..." Santana moaned at the feel of Brittany's able mouth on her breasts, her core now burning with need. Brittany teased her by rubbing her hand right below the girl's entrance.

"...Britt please." She whimpered, as Brittany kissed Santana's neck and lightly ran her index finger along her entrance, causing Santana to shudder.

"God San..." she breathed seductively into the brunette's ear, "...you're so wet." She slowly lifted her finger to her own mouth to taste the girl's juices as she looked deeply into her girlfriend's eyes.

Santana could only whimper in response, which caused Brittany to chuckle lightly. She decided to end the girl's suffering and connected their lips once more before sliding her middle finger into the Latina's burning center. Santana gasped against Brittany's lips at the delightful intrusion and had to clutch Brittany's neck to remain upright. Brittany slowly started pumping in and out as Santana moved with her rhythmically. She slipped in a second finger and quickened her speed. Santana threw her head back in ecstasy, panting between moans, as she rode Brittany's long fingers. Brittany knew Santana was close when she felt the girl's muscles grip her fingers tightly.

"Cum for me, babe," she whispered against her girlfriend's neck and placed a delicate kiss underneath her jaw, pushing Santana over the edge. Her body went rigid and she cried out Brittany's name as she found her release. Brittany let her ride out her orgasm, marveling at the way her muscles spasmmed against her fingers as each wave passed through her. She slid her fingers out and Santana let out a satisfied sigh as her body relaxed. The girls looked at each other, and let out breathless laughs.

"That was incredible Britt," Santana panted, smiling up at her.

"You're incredible San," she responded lightly, her blue eyes sparkling magnificently, and she leaned forward and kissed her girlfriend one last time.

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><p>They pulled up to Jeremy Fisher's house two hours later and the party was in full swing and surprisingly packed. Santana had made the decision beforehand not to drink too much since she still had to drive them home. That and she didn't want to be a hysterical mess. The first thing Brittany did when they walked into house was head straight to wherever there was dancing while Santana made her way to the bar. She grabbed drinks for the both of them and quickly made her way back to her dancer. She stood at the edge of the crowd and simply watched how the music moved through Brittany. She was so graceful and effortless with her movements and Santana just stared at her in awe. Brittany caught Santana's eye and danced over to her.<p>

"You look amazing out there," she doted as she handed Brittany her drink.

"Thanks," Brittany beamed at her. "You should join me," she insisted with a playful smile. Just when Santana put her drink down to let Brittany lead her to the dance floor, Puck threw his arms around both of the girls' shoulders, pressing his weight down on them.

"There you are!" he said loudly, obviously buzzed. "I was looking all over for you! I need you two gorgeous ladies to come with me please." he added with a mischievous grin, and led them into another room. They reached a spacious room that Santana assumed was the game room. There was a huge TV screen with numerous gaming systems and a long leather couch in front of it. There was a foosball table and pool table in the center of the room, both surrounded by people. Towards the back there was a ping-pong tournament going on and right beside it was a bar. Puck directed them towards it and poured a couple shots of tequila. He wiggled his eyebrows at them before raising the glasses above his head.

"Booody shoooooottts!" He bellowed wildly as everyone in the room hooted and hollered, throwing their cups in the air. A couple guys hastily cleared off the pool table, and the two girls cast each other wicked grins as they danced over to the space provided for them. Several guys gladly helped them up, and they continued to dance provocatively while Puck scrounged around for some limes. Brittany pressed her body up against the Latina's backside, placing one arm across her ribs, right below her breasts, and the other running down her side with her thumb tucked into the waist line of the Latina's tiny shorts. They grinded their hips against each other to the rhythm of the blaring music until Puck came over, having successfully located the lime slices.

"Alright Brittany, lay your fine ass down!" he commanded her playfully. Brittany tossed back a shot, slipped her top off over her head, exposing her crystal blue bra, and threw it on Puck's head before laying down on the green felt. By now all the guys were hollering like idiots and several of them had whipped out there phones and started recording. _They can look but they can't touch_, Santana thought to herself, ..._she's alllll mine_. Santana smiled at the thought as she kneeled down and straddled her girlfriend, grabbed the lime from Puck, and placed it gently in the girl's mouth. Puck poured the salt right at the top of Brittany's cleavage and and Brittany watched as Santana leaned down with a seductive smile and slowly licked the salt up with her silky tongue, lingering a little longer than what was required. She grabbed the shot from Puck and threw it back before leaning back down take the lime from Brittany's mouth, their lips lightly brushing, leaving both wanting more. After the second shot, she leaned over Brittany once more. But instead taking the lime from her with her mouth, she grabbed the lime and tossed it aside wanting to taste the lime on her girlfriend's lips instead. She closed the small space between them and kissed Brittany's smiling mouth, the tang of the lime tingling her lips. She rolled her eyes at the increased uproar this caused, as all the guys whooped and high-fived each other. _Boys_, she thought before reluctantly pulling away from the blonde, not wanting to go any further with an audience in respect to Brittany and herself. After they had their fill of body shots, they got a ping-pong tournament going, for the ones still sober enough to play, and Santana schooled everyone who challenged her, much to her delight.

When she started to feel a little too drunk for comfort, she decided to slip away to get some water, to sober up a little. She made her way through the crowd and into the kitchen to pour herself a glass of water. She suddenly found all the people and music suffocating, so she exited the house through kitchen door and found herself in the backyard. She made her way down to a large swimming pool, and slipped off her shoes before plopping down on the ledge, letting her legs dangle in the water. She let the April night envelop her in its comforting stillness as she drank her water, swaying her legs slowly. She closed her eyes and leaned back on her hands, breathing deeply, perfectly at ease. This night was definitely what she needed. She willed her mind not think of anything but how nice the warm breeze felt against her face and the feel of the cool water surrounding her legs for the duration of the fifteen minutes she was out there, until she suddenly felt like she was being watched.

"You shouldn't be out here alone Santana," a deep voice spoke suddenly from behind, causing her heart to stop. She wheeled her upper body around to find Puck standing a couple feet behind her, looking quite sullen.

"Jesus Puck! Didn't your mom ever tell you it's rude to sneak up on people?" Santana panted clutching her chest.

"I mean it. Come back inside," he said seriously, all traces of the Puck from the party gone. She wasn't familiar with this side of Puck, and wasn't quite sure how to react.

"When did you become so concerned?" she asked, amused at his uncharacteristic display of affection towards her.

"I just- I don't want to lose you, San," he replied. _Ahh...so the tin man does have a heart_, she thought to herself. "Look, I know I act like all this isn't affecting me, but it is. And after Lauren..." he paused and looked down at his feet, furrowing his brow, before continuing, "...I can't lose you too."

After hearing all the hurt he'd been harboring, she got up to embrace her friend in a comforting hug.

"Hey... you don't need to worry about me," she said soothingly. "...I have razor blades hidden in my hair," she said in a lighter tone to try and brighten his mood. Sure enough, he broke the hug and smiled down at the Latina.

"Yeah? Where else are you hiding things?" he asked wiggling his eyebrows. ..._And there's the Puck that I know. _She rolled her eyes and smiled in response before pulling on his arm to lead them back inside.

By now the party was dying down. Half the people had already left and Santana decided she was ready to leave as well. So she said her goodbyes to Puck and went out in search of Brittany. She found her a couple minutes later sitting on a couch talking to a guy Santana had never seen in her life.

"-don't understand why they're called M&M's because they're W's too. So... shouldn't they be M&W's? Like, what makes M's so special?" she was saying as Santana walked up behind her, chuckling lightly at her girlfriends adorableness. She put her hand on Brittany's shoulder to make her presence known. Brittany turned to look at the sudden contact to find a tan hand resting on her shoulder. Knowing that hand better than her own, she felt her heart flutter, as she looked up to find her girlfriend standing next to her.

"Hey San!" she beamed, smiling up at her.

"Hey babe," she smiled back sweetly, before turning her attention to the burly guy Brittany had made company with. "Who the hell is this?" She asked curiously, looking him over. He was a big guy with dark features and was in serious need of a razor. He looked like he'd been out of high school for a while, and she wondered what the hell he was doing at a high school party.

"Oh! This is Zakhar Vaseline. Isn't that a funny name?" she asked rhetorically. "He's from Russia... which is not the same as Prussia," she said happily, bouncing in her seat. He chuckled before correcting her.

"It's Vasiliev, actually," he said with a heavy accent, talking to Santana. She nodded to pretend like she actually gave a shit how his last name was pronounced. But honestly, the guy gave her the creeps, though she didn't know exactly why.

"So what are you doing here?" she asked, not bothering to be pleasant anymore.

"I'm studying abroad at the high school," he stated matter-of-factly.

"No I didn't mean-," she started and then registered what he had said. "Wait, you go to McKinley?" she asked.

"You seem surprised," he said.

"Well it's just that, I've never seen you before," she explained. _That, and you look like you're pushing thirty._

"Well I've seen you," he said never taking his eyes off her. Santana felt the hair on the back of her neck rise and she shifted uncomfortably, not knowing how to respond to that unsettling comment. "You cheer, yes?" he asked, sensing her discomfort. "I saw you at the football games."

"Oh... right," she replied, still not at ease, then turned to Brittany.

"Are you ready to leave?" she asked her, wanting to put some distance between herself and the Russian gorilla.

"Yes," she said, and rose from the couch. "See you later, Zakhar!" she said with a wave as Santana started pulling her towards the door. Santana could feel his eyes on her as they walked away, and when she looked back over her shoulder, he was staring directly at her with a chilling smile across his broad, hairy face. She doubled her speed as she led them to her car, and threw herself into her seat. She chewed on her lip while she waited for Brittany to get in the car. When she finally finished settling into her seat, Santana turned to her, flustered.

"What the hell Britt," she said more as a statement than a question. The blonde just gave her a puzzled look and Santana continued, "What were you doing talking to that guy?"

"What? He's nice," she replied innocently. That was yet another reason why she loved Brittany so much. She passed no judgment and gave love freely, no matter the persons shape or the amount of hair on their neck. But that could be dangerous if she trusted the wrong person. And these were times when no one could be trusted.

"Well I don't want you talking to him anymore," she said protectively.

"Why not?" Brittany returned, looking confused.

"I just don't trust him," she said firmly. "Please, just promise me you won't," she almost begged, with worry in her eyes.

"Okay San, I won't," she replied soothingly, not wanting her girlfriend to fret anymore. Santana breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed back into her seat.

"Good. Thank you," she said and reached out to give Brittany's hand a quick squeeze. "I just don't want anything to happen to you," she said with a small smile before putting the car in gear.

The rest of the car ride, Brittany talked animatedly about her night, and Santana just sat back and listened, glad that she had fun, until they pulled up to Santana's house again. It took a lot of lying and convincing to Brittany's parents for them to allow her start spend the night at Santana's house again once they told them the truth about their relationship. But Santana had assured them that they wouldn't do anything inappropriate, which was not true, and that her parents had them under video surveillance at all times, which was only half true since Santana's room was not, and her parents never viewed the tapes anyways. But thankfully, Brittany's parents had cautiously agreed. I mean, they were still best friends after all. They walked up the marble steps to the front door and Brittany waited as Santana put her key in the lock. Brittany saw the brunette's brow furrow when she turned the key, and she froze in place, deep in thought.

"What is it San?" Brittany asked her earnestly.

"Did I lock the door when we left?" she asked, troubled, staring at the already unlocked door. Brittany tried searching her brain but came up with nothing.

"I don't remember..." was all she offered.

"I could've sworn I did..." she trailed off and started chewing on her lip.

"Do you think someone was in your house?" Brittany asked anxiously. Santana considered the possibility before shaking her head.

"No, 'cause the alarm would've went off." she reasoned. "It's fine. I must've just forgotten to lock it," she said as she turned the handle to go inside. They walked into the dark house and Santana punched in the code and glanced around to make sure nothing was out of the ordinary, just to be safe. When she was satisfied, she looped her pinky through Brittany's and they continued to her room. They quickly did what they needed to in the bathroom then returned to the bedroom to finish getting ready for bed. Santana threw on a tiny gray tank and red, plaid boxer shorts before she groggily made her way to the bed, drained from all the excitement of the night, and face planted into a pile of feather pillows. Brittany put on a loose t-shirt and some pink and white stripped boy shorts and, realizing how tired she actually was, gratefully joined her girlfriend, falling backwards onto the bed. They laid there in comfortable silence for a moment before Brittany turned towards the darker girl.

"Hey San?" she said quietly, not wanting to disturb the peace.

"Mhmm?" the Latina muffled a response, not wanting to move.

"Thanks for tonight," said simply. Santana lifted her head and gave her a sweet smile.

"Anything for you babe," she said gently before letting out a long yawn and placing her head back on the pillows. Brittany decided to pull back the covers, with little help from the sleepy Latina, so the girls didn't fall asleep on top of them. Santana curled up underneath the covers and Brittany habitually took her place behind her. She slipped her long arm underneath Santana's darker one to hold her tightly to her and tucked her legs into the shorter girl's. She breathed in the warm, exotic scent of brown sugar and coconuts. The familiar scent was always a comfort to Brittany, and she smiled contentedly against the Latina's warm neck. She leaned over the girl and gently brushed a strand of hair out of her face before planting a delicate kiss on her temple. Santana smiled serenely in her dream-like state and buried herself even further into Brittany, feeling that, in this perfect moment, everything was all right in the world.

"I love you Brittany," she sighed.

"I love you too San," she whispered back.

And they drifted off into a peaceful sleep, in the safety of each other's arms.


	3. The Black Spot

**A/N: **Well first off, I would like to thank y'all again for all the reviews, favorites, and alerts. You guys are awesome.

Now I put a lot of thought and work into this chapter before i decided i was happy with it, so I hope it is well-received. I am excited to hear what you guys think about it so please review! Happy reading and enjoy! :)

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><p><strong>-3-<strong>

**The Black Spot**

The weekend passed by quickly and before she knew it, she was waking up alone in her bed on Monday morning. It always felt wrong waking up without Brittany's warm body against hers, and she suddenly missed her terribly even though they had just spent the whole weekend doing nothing and everything together. She glanced at her alarm clock. It was a few minutes after seven, so she grumbled and rolled herself out of bed. She habitually turned on her TV as she walked out of her room to start her morning coffee, but froze when she realized what was on.

"-most recent victim of the McKinley Killer, is Lauren Zizes. Lauren attended McKinley High School as well as the previous victims, and would've been graduating this spring. There have not been any recent suspects since Dennis Kidney, who was a janitor at the high school. But the FBI have recently joined the case and are hopeful to have some answers soo-" she shut off the TV. She didn't want to hear about all that yet. She didn't want to hear about Lauren. She didn't want to hear that the police haven't been able to find anything. She didn't want to hear that the killer was still lurking around, looking for his next victim. That could wait for two more hours.

She walked into the kitchen as her dad was picking up his morning cup on his way out.

"Bye Papi," she said.

"Have a good day, mija," he returned, not hearing the longing in his daughter's voice. And just like that, he was gone. She sighed and started filling up Brittany's thermos. She always poured Brittany's coffee earlier so it had enough time to cool down by the time she drank it. But Santana liked hers scalding hot. So she finished filling it, and drudged back upstairs to get ready. She hopped in the shower already hating the day. She hated her school, she hated her home life. The only good thing in her life was Brittany. And thank God for her. Brittany was the only thing that kept all the darkness in her life from swallowing her whole.

She finished her shower, dried off, and pulled on her uniform. She glanced at the clock overhead. Quarter 'til eight. She was doing okay on time, so she blow dried her hair and pulled it into her pony before curling it in neat spirals. She grabbed her athletic bag and headed downstairs.

She grabbed Brittany's thermos under the coffee maker and started her own before going to her car to put her bag and Brittany's coffee inside. As she walked back up the steps to her house, she saw a small rectangular box on the side of her doorstep that she hadn't noticed on her way out. It was a simple, dark wooden box with a little black latch on it. _What the hell?_ she thought as she approached it slowly, looking around for someone to clue her in, even though there was no one in sight. She picked it up hesitantly and undid the latch. She slowly lifted the lid and peered inside curiously. Lying on top was a neatly folded note. She pulled it out in order to reveal the rest of the box's contents. She instinctively cried out at what she had uncovered as her arms propelled the box away from her. The box crashed to the floor a couple yards away and she held her breath as a pale finger slowly rolled out onto her driveway. She suddenly felt bile rising up in her throat and she barely made it to her bushes before retching in them. When she had finished, she realized that she was still clutching the note. She slowly lifted it to her face with a shaky hand and read: _Here is the first of many to come; I'll make you pay if you tell anyone_. Her body went numb as pure terror trickled through her with each word. She read the printed words over and over trying to think of any way this wasn't really happening. _Maybe someone's pranking me again... there's no way that finger is real_, she thought desperately as she pulled out her phone.

* * *

><p>Puck was sleeping soundly when the sound of his phone ringing pulled him from his dreams. He slammed his hand down on top of the device that was resting on his nightstand and dragged it towards him. He held it up to his face, squinting at the intruding light, and made out the word Santana. He flipped up his phone and before he could say anything he was greeted by a very angry Santana.<p>

"_Did you fucking do this Puck?_" she all but screamed from the other end.

"What?" he said drowsily, hopelessly confused. "What's happening?"

"_Don't screw with me Puckerman_," she said, quieting her tone but still angry nonetheless.

"Santana, I honestly don't know what the fuck you're talking about," he said defensively, not liking being attacked first thing in the morning. He heard the click from the other end and stayed there with the phone against his ear, wondering what the hell just happened.

* * *

><p>Brittany was sitting on the curb in front of her house rolling a roly poly around in her hand waiting for Santana to come. She wasn't normally late. In fact, she was usually early so the girls could have some alone time before school. She sat there for five minutes before she saw Santana's black Camaro come tearing down the street before coming to an abrupt halt in front of her house. She quickly flung herself inside, not wanting to get yelled at, and Santana peeled out without word. Brittany was startled by her girlfriend's behavior and took a sideways glance at her to see what was wrong. Santana was clutching the steering wheel so hard her knuckles were white. Brittany turned her head to fully observe the Latina and her curious behavior. When she reached up to put on her turning signal, her hand was shaking. She also noticed that her nails were caked in what looked like dirt, which was a mystery in itself. Santana always had clean, neatly filed nails.<p>

"Santana?" she intruded into the silence timidly. The brunette didn't seem to have heard her, so Brittany stretched out her arm and gently touched the girl's shoulder. Santana jumped at the unexpected contact, and Brittany recoiled her arm, startled by her girlfriend's reaction. After Santana recovered herself she turned to look at the speechless blonde who was looking at her with a worried expression.

"Sorry Britt..." she mumbled, annoyed with herself for not being able to keep herself together.

"Santana, what's wrong?" Brittany asked earnestly.

"Nothing's wrong. You just startled me," she said defensively.

"Well...why are you driving so fast?" Brittany asked, deciding to ask about that first.

"Because I can't be late Britt," she said annoyed with her questioning. She hated lying to Brittany, but she didn't want to burden her with this. And she didn't have a choice in the matter.

"Your hands are shaking..." Brittany countered, doubting her excuses.

_That's because I'm scared out of my mind_. "Yeah I drank my whole cup of coffee in like a minute," she explained with a humorless chuckle.

"...And they're covered in dirt," Brittany added, staring at the girl's hands. Santana subconsciously started rubbing them off on her seat.

_That's because I had to bury a finger in my backyard_. "Yeah I accidentally knocked over one of my mothers plants," she countered. Her mind flashed to the image of her hands clawing at the dirt in her mother's flowerbed frantically before stuffing the box in the shallow grave, not knowing what else to do with it. She suppressed a shudder from the unwelcome flashback.

"Oh," Brittany said simply, accepting the information given her. Something still didn't feel right, but she didn't know what it was. So she shrugged it off and picked up the cup of coffee that had been waiting for her and started flipping through radio stations.

Santana was going out of her mind. She hated how easy it was to lie to Brittany just then, but it's not like she had a choice anyways. She was going to have to go through all of this alone. Once Brittany settled on a station, she reached across and rested her hand on top of Santana's. Santana had been subconsciously clutching her leg, but at her girlfriend's touch she felt her grip slacken, and she let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. She needed to get a grip. If he was, in fact, a student, she couldn't walk into the school like this. Not when his eyes would be on her the minute she walked through the doors. She may be terrified but she would never let it show. She would never give him the satisfaction. She took deep breaths as she pulled into her parking spot, trying to calm herself._ I can do this_, she repeated in her head over and over again as she climbed out of her car. She grabbed Brittany's hand and started for the door. The front of the school was crowded with reporters and their camera crews, as it always was after a new murder. A lot of the times, they'd stop students and interview them, so the girls made a beeline for the doors and ran for it. When they pushed them open, Santana immediately put on her bitch face. But this time, the face was only for _him_. She hoped he was watching. She hoped it pissed him off that she didn't seem affected. She hoped it wiped that smug smile he would have off his face. She owned the hallways as she walked through them and people parted when they saw her. She made sure to stare everyone down as she walked, hoping to catch something in one of their eyes that would give them away. She was somewhat disappointed when all she saw in their eyes was fear. They reached Brittany's classroom and she left her with a light peck on the lips. She made it to her class right as the final bell rang and quickly took her seat.

"Ah Santana. I was worried you wouldn't show," Mr. Burns said when she had settled in her seat.

"Awh don't sound so disappointed Eric. Someone's gotta be here to keep you in line," she said with a fake sweet smile. He mimicked Santana's smile before beginning the lesson. She did her best to focus on the lesson being taught so her thoughts wouldn't wander to other things but was suddenly drawn to her phone. New text message from Puck. She slid it up to read its contents.

_What the hell was that this morning?_ She had forgotten about their brief conversation. She had been desperate for an explanation, even though she knew Puck hadn't done it. He wouldn't have after their heart-to-heart Friday night. Now she had to think of some lies for him as well.

_Some bastard left a bag of shit on my doorstep_, she replied, confident he would buy that. And he did.

_Lol! That blows! I kinda wish i had claimed that now_, she rolled her eyes. A common reaction when talking to Puck, she realized, but she loved him and his immaturity all the same. She felt a genuine smile spread across her face and she slid her phone up to type a reply.

"Alright Santana, we're not gonna do this again. Give me your phone please. You'll get it back at the end of class," Mr. Burns said as he walked up to her with his hand outstretched. She scoffed at him. As if she was gonna give it to him.

"Alright.. if that's the way you wanna be, you can go drop it off at the office for the rest of the day," he said simply. She figured there was no way to get out of this one so she rolled her eyes and slapped her phone into his hand.

"Thank you," he said, genuinely surprised she had given it up so easily. "You can pick it up at my desk after class," he told her as she crossed her arms and scowled at him.

With this new damper on her mood, she slipped back into the dark thoughts that had resurfaced. She thought of the cryptic note stuffed into her bag. She didn't know why she kept it. She reasoned that to her it kind of felt like the black spot, marking its claim and sealing her fate. She couldn't get rid of it if she tried. And now the words were screaming at her. _Here is the first of many to come; I'll make you pay if you tell anyone_. She wondered what exactly she should be expecting, and how long it would go on. And she wondered what exactly he would do to her if she told. She already knew he tortured his victims, so she couldn't think of what worse he could do. Maybe the extremity of the torture depended on her cooperation. One thing she did know for sure though.. she was not going back to that house tonight.

* * *

><p>As she and Brittany settled into her car at the end of the day, Santana found herself actually glad she came to school today. Glee club had been difficult at first because singing was the last thing she wanted to do, but as it went on, she found the music quite therapeutic and was sad when the hour ended. Even cheerios practice had been a good call. She was able to channel her emotions into her conditioning and routines and, she'll admit, her cheerios. Being head cheerleader definitely had its perks. But now school was over and her all her fear had slowly crept back in.<p>

"Can I crash at your place tonight Britt?" Santana asked as she pulled out of the parking lot. She was not going to encounter another surprise on her doorstep. Not if she could help it.

"Of course San," she said, surprised she even asked. She usually just invited herself over, not that Brittany minded.

"Okay, let me just stop by my house and grab my overnight stuff real quick," she said. She didn't know if she was ready to go back there and walk past the spot that had been occupied by someone's finger just hours earlier. But there she was, minutes later, parked in front of her house. She quickly got out of her car, just wanting to get this done and over with.

Brittany wasn't expecting Santana's haste, so she stumbled out and caught up with Santana just as she reached the door. Santana kept throwing nervous glances to the ground besides Brittany's feet before she unlocked the door and pushed herself inside. She was running up the stairs by the time Brittany stepped inside and Santana yelled over the alarm for her to punch in the code. Brittany turned to the pad and typed in 011294. Santana's birthday. That was the only reason she remembered it. She decided to just wait in the foyer, figuring Santana would be back down shortly. Her eyes started roaming around the open area before something in the kitchen caught her attention. Without thinking, she had started moving towards it and was soon standing right in front of it. Santana's red thermos was sitting underneath the coffee maker, filled to the brim with dark, cold coffee.

Santana made her way back down the stairs, after hastily throwing her stuff in her bag, expecting Brittany to be waiting at the front door. When she wasn't, Santana glanced around for her and spotted her standing in the kitchen, her back to her, staring down at something.

"Brittany?" Santana asked, slightly confused.

"I thought you said you drank all your coffee," she said, deep in thought. Santana's eyes widened as she realized what Brittany had been staring at. _Shit!_ She had completely forgotten about her coffee she had left behind in her haste to leave the house. She scrambled around for another lie as Brittany turned to face her.

"I-I did. I was refilling it for school but forgot to grab it because I was running late," she stumbled out. Brittany could tell she was lying this time. She couldn't help but feel hurt that her girlfriend was hiding something from her.

"Did I do something wrong San?" she asked dejectedly. Santana had never lied to her before and she wondered what she did to deserve it.

"God no," Santana replied, frustrated at herself for causing her girlfriend to feel this way. She walked up to Brittany and took her hands in hers as she spoke softly. "You could never do anything wrong babe. There's just something going on with me that I can't tell you...for now," she added that last part just to comfort the blonde. She knew she would never be able to tell her.

"Okay," Brittany accepted, crestfallen. She was going over everything in her mind from this morning. Santana had said that her hands were shaking because she had drank all her coffee. But now here it was, untouched. She recalled the Latina's jumpy, shaken state and then it hit her. Even though Brittany was still thoroughly confused, she finally realized that Santana had been afraid. She hadn't been able to place the emotion before because she had never seen her fearless girlfriend exhibit it. This wasn't the same type of fear she had had about coming out. This was stronger. And she wondered what in the world Santana Lopez would be afraid of.

* * *

><p>They arrived at Brittany's house five minutes later after a silent car ride, neither one knowing what to say to the other. They walked in and went straight upstairs to Brittany's room to do their homework. Besides the occasional question from Brittany, they worked in silence until they heard a light rap on the door.<p>

"Dinner's ready sweetie," she said as she poked her head in the door. "Oh hey Santana," she said, surprised at the Latinas presence, before smiling sweetly at her.

"Hey Mama Pierce," she returned. "I hope it's okay if I stay here tonight," she said politely.

"Of course it is sweetie. You know you're always welcome here. You may not have come out of me, but as far as I'm concerned, you're my daughter too," she said sincerely. She had always felt that way, ever since Santana was a little girl.

"Thank you," Santana said, trying not to get emotional. "That means a lot," she added. Truth is, Shannon Pierce had raised her more than her own mother. She had always felt more like a mom to her than anything, and she was glad to hear the feeling was mutual.

"Anytime," she said with a smile. "Now get your butts downstairs so we can eat. Dad's starving," she said playfully. The girls grinned as they leapt off the bed and shuffled past Mrs. Pierce, who was leaning against the doorway. Mrs. Pierce followed them out and slung her arm affectionately around Santana's shoulders, and pulled her into a sideways hug before releasing her. They made their way to the table and Mr. Pierce was already seated with Brittany's thirteen year old sister, Hannah.

"Awh man, who invited you?" Mr. Pierce called out once he spotted Santana while Hannah started bouncing in her seat, beaming at her. She rolled her eyes at him playfully before smiling brightly at Hannah.

"Where you been, Lopez? We've missed you," he said with his deep, friendly voice. "It's almost been a whole week," he added with a playful wink.

"Hiding from you. That beard is getting pretty scary," she said as they joined him at the table. He chuckle lightly.

"It's just for you," he said as he ran his fingers over his scruffy jaw. He always enjoyed their playful banter. "Alright. Let's eat!" he said as he clapped his hands and started rubbing them together.

"Better not eat too much. We don't want one of those buttons poppin' off and killing someone," Santana said nodding to the buttons on his shirt. He let out a booming laugh before digging in.

"So. How was everyone's day?" he addressed them after swallowing a mouthful of mashed potatoes. Santana's mood immediately dropped as she recalled her horrible day, hoping to avoid answering this question.

"Well mine was good. We threw a birthday party for one of our tellers and almost everyone's drawer came out balanced which almost never happens," Mrs. Pierce said. She was the branch manager for one of the local banks.

"That's great honey. How was yours goose?" he asked Hannah.

"Good. Mrs. Anderson picked my artwork to go in the display case outside her room," she said happily.

"That one you've been working on all week?" Mrs. Pierce asked.

"Mhmm," she answered proudly.

"That's fantastic goose!" Mr. Pierce exclaimed as he ruffled the hair on the top of her head. "How about you girls?" he asked the two girls more seriously, knowing things would be especially difficult right now after the latest murder.

"Umm mine was okay," Brittany said.

"Yeah same here. Nothing special," Santana said, nonchalantly. Brittany could hear the concealed emotions in her girlfriend's response and she hated that she didn't know what was going on with her. But she realized she needed to put her feelings aside. Her girlfriend needed her right now. So as the rest of the family continued with their dinner talk, she inconspicuously slipped her hand into Santana's under the table. Santana looked at their hands resting on her lap before she looked up at Brittany with a sad smile. Brittany returned the same smile and caressed Santana's hand with her thumb.

As everyone else was finishing their food, Santana was just pushing the green beans around on her plate. She didn't feel like eating anymore. She just felt sick to her stomach as the image of that damn finger kept floating into her head.

"What gives San? You've barely touched your food," Mr. Pierce said curiously.

"Yeah, I'm just not very hungry," Santana said, still staring at her plate.

"Are you feeling okay honey?" Mrs. Pierce asked with her motherly tone.

"Yeah I'm fine," she said as she looked up and smiled at her, though it never reached her eyes. Just then, Mr. Pierce's phone rang.

"Bill," Mrs. Pierce said with a scolding tone.

"I know. I'm sorry," he said guilty before checking to see who it was. "Oh I gotta take it, it's work," he said as he rose from the table and threw his napkin beside his plate. Mr. Pierce was the Lima police chief. A lot of people blamed him for everything that was happening. Blamed him for not putting a stop to it. She imagined that must be hard on him, but he never showed it. He came back in the room moments later.

"Sorry guys, duty calls. I gotta go," he said as he leaned down to give Mrs. Pierce a kiss goodbye.

"When will you be back?" she asked him.

"Uh.. I'm not sure. Late though, don't wait up," he told her. "Bye guys love you," he said to all of them before throwing on his leather jacket and disappearing out the door.

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><p>Later that evening, Santana and Brittany were back up in Brittany's room lying on her bed. Brittany was on her side with her head propped up on her hand running her hand up and down the length of Santana's smooth arm. Santana had been reserved all evening, and it worried Brittany. She had never seen her like this, and she didn't know what to do for her.<p>

"Santana?" Brittany said quietly into the silence.

"Yeah?" Santana breathed back, staring up at the glow-in-the-dark stars that they had put up together when they were kids.

"You don't have to tell me what's going on..." Brittany said slowly before adding,"..but are you okay?"

"I'm okay," she said quietly. _For now_.

Santana could hear the concern in her girlfriend's voice and realized she wasn't the only one that would be affected by what this guy had planned for her. It would destroy Brittany. She's never experienced that type of a loss in her life. She suddenly hated that Brittany loved her so much, because it will only hurt her that much more.

"Brittany?" she asked, barely above a whisper.

"Yeah?" Brittany replied, matching her tone.

"On a scale of one to ten, how much do you love me?" Santana asked solemnly. Brittany paused for a moment in serious thought before answering.

"Well, ten wouldn't be enough.. but if it was like one through a zillion it would definitely be a zillion," she responded. Santana smiled sadly at her girlfriends response.

"Why?" Santana asked, wondering how she deserved the love of this perfect girl next to her.

"Why what?" Brittany asked, confused.

"Why do you love me?" Santana clarified. At that moment, Mrs. Pierce rapped on the door again before opening it and poking her head in.

"Hey girls, lights out in an hour," she said.

"Okay," Brittany said.

"I'm going to bed already so behave," she said and gave them both a look.

"Mom, please don't," Brittany begged.

"I'm just saying... I'm done now," she said holding her hands up, "Alright, goodnight girls. I love you," she said.

"Love you too," they both said in unison before she closed the door.

"Does she seriously think we'd try anything in this house?" Santana asked humorously. She would never even consider it. She couldn't imagine what would happen if they were caught. She didn't want to ruin the closest thing she had to a family.

"Well.. even she knows how sexy you are," Brittany said with a wink. Santana chuckled lightly.

"Or how sex-crazed you are," Santana added, and they both laughed heartily for the first time in what felt like forever.

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><p>A couple hours had passed and they had both gotten in their showers and were now in bed. Brittany had already fallen asleep but Santana was lying awake relishing in the feel of Brittany's warm body against hers, wondering how many more times she would be able to lie with her. She memorized Brittany's deep breathing, and how it felt as it hit her neck. She memorized the feel of her steady heartbeat, so close to hers. She turned around in Brittany's arms and gazed at her face in the moonlight. She gently brushed her hair back and studied her soft features, ingraining them in her memory. She looked so peaceful in her slumber. Her eyelids would flutter ever so slightly on occasion and Santana wondered what she was dreaming about. She wished they could escape into her dream together, where they would be safe from this miserable world. A place where they could be together forever. Because their forever was about to be cut very short. She turned back around and clung desperately onto the long arm that was draped around her until sleep finally overtook her.<p> 


	4. The Profile

**A/N **Thank you again to those who have reviewed, favorited, and alerted. My reviewers are especially awesome. Please continue to let me know how you guys are liking the story. I do read them and take them into account.

So this chapter is a little shorter but in my defense school has been kicking my ass. But I wanted to give y'all something because I don't like making y'all wait just as much as y'all don't like waiting. So here you go lovelies. Read, enjoy,...review? :)

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><p><strong>-4- <strong>

**The Profile**

"Santana wake up!" Brittany whispered as she violently shook the sleepy Latina awake. Santana moaned grumpily as she hugged her pillow tighter, not wanting to wake up. "Santana I think there's someone in the house!" Brittany continued to whisper frantically. As soon as she finished speaking, there was a loud crash downstairs. Santana shot up into a sitting position, her body rigid with fear.

"He found me," she whispered, terrified. And she led him here. To Brittany. She turned sharply to her girlfriend. "Brittany, you need to get out of here! Go out the window... _Now_!" she added when the blonde hesitated, as she pulled her out of the bed. She grabbed her phone off the nightstand and dragged Brittany across the room.

"Come with me!" Brittany said earnestly when they reached the window, her eyes frantic and lip trembling slightly.

"No, it's me he wants! If I go, he'll just come after us. This way you'll be safe," she whispered pulling the window open. She heard the intruder on the stairs now. They were running out of time. "Brittany hurry! He's coming!" she panicked, desperately needing her to be safe. Tears were streaming down Brittany's face now as she clambered out onto the roof.

"Here. When you're safe, call for help," Santana said as she passed Brittany the phone.

"San...please," Brittany choked out, pleading. It was Santana's turn to cry now as she realized this was probably the last time she would see her girlfriend.

"I love you Brittany..," she whispered, tears spilling over her cheeks. She heard doors opening in the hallway. He was looking for her, "Now _go_!" she breathed urgently, as she closed the window on the sobbing girl. Brittany placed a trembling hand on the window for a brief moment before turning and disappearing out of sight.

Santana wiped her cheeks aggressively, trying to erase that last image of her despairing girlfriend, as she flew to the door to lock it, hoping to buy herself some time. Just moments later she heard the knob rattle. She stared at it, terrified. He was here. Right on the other side of the door. And that small lock was the only thing keeping him out. And she knew it wouldn't last long. She needed something to defend herself. Thankfully, she knew this room as well as her own and knew there was an extra shelf from Brittany's wardrobe in the closet. She ran over to the closet as he started kicking in the door. She kept an eye on the door as she felt around on the closet wall before making contact with the wooden board. She yanked it out and raised it over her shoulder with both hands as she moved back towards the door. She pressed herself against the wall, ready to bash him over the head as soon as he came in. The wood started breaking from his assault and splintered wood was being strewn across the room. He finally made a large enough hole in the door that he could fit through. He pushed himself through it and into the room. Santana immediately swung the board around as hard as she could and made contact with his face. He fell backward into the door and she rose the board over her head again and brought it down hard, but was stopped mid-swing. He had caught the board with one large hand and was now laughing darkly. The sound made Santana's blood go cold, and her body went numb. She released the board, petrified, and slowly started backing away as he rose to his feet. He cast the board aside and started slowly advancing her, pulling out a thick knife that was already dripping with blood. She stared at it, terrified, not wanting to think about what that meant. Her back suddenly met the wall. She had nowhere else to go. He looked like a shadow as he crept closer and closer. He was now only an arms length from her and she could only watch with wide eyes as he slowly raised his knife over his head. Her body was glued in place with fear. She closed her eyes and braced herself for what was coming, but was startled when instead, her ears were met with a loud cracking sound. Her eyes flew open to find a shaken Brittany standing over the now unconscious shadow man, the wooden board in her hand. She heaved a shaky breath and chucked the board on the ground beside the crumpled figure. She lifted her gaze to the stunned Latina and quickly rushed towards her. She placed worried hands on both sides of her girlfriend's face and pressed their foreheads together.

"Are you okay?" she asked, their frantic breaths mingling together. Santana gave a small nod. She couldn't believe Brittany was here. She thought she would never see her again.

"You came back for me," Santana breathed as a single tear escaped from one of her deep mocha eyes.

"Of course I did," Brittany said softly as she gently wiped away the glistening tear with the pad of her thumb. "If you died.. I would too," she said resolutely, looking deep in Santana's moist eyes. Santana nodded her understanding, knowing exactly what Brittany meant.

"Now let's go!" Brittany said urgently as she grabbed Santana's hand and took off towards the door, never looking back. They reached the splintered wreck and Brittany pushed herself through first before turning around to help pull Santana through. Then they bolted for the stairs.

"Did you call the police?" Santana asked as they flew down the steps.

"Yeah, they're on their way," Brittany said over her shoulder.

"Good. Then let's just get the hell out of here," Santana said fervently. They reached the bottom of the stairs and Brittany ran to the door while Santana ran to the kitchen to get her keys from the counter. Suddenly, Brittany's bloodcurdling scream split the air and Santana's turned sharply at the dreadful sound. Her eyes widened in horror as she took in in the sight. The shadow man was there at the now open door, standing right in front of Brittany. Santana cried out her name as she ran towards her, but it seemed like her feet weren't moving at all. She could only watch in horror he raised his thick knife and plunged it deep into Brittany's chest.

* * *

><p>"NOOO!" Santana screamed as she shot up in bed, her face drenched in sweat and tears. She looked around wildly, her chest heaving with sobs. <em>It was all a dream<em>, she realized, _just a dream_.

"Santana?" a concerned and slightly frightened voice spoke out as the room dimly lit up. It was the most beautiful sound Santana had ever heard and she immediately turned to her girlfriend and threw her arms around her, almost knocking her back onto the pillows.

"Oh my god, I thought I lost you!" Santana sobbed, burying her face in Brittany's neck. Once Brittany recovered from the initial surprise, she wrapped her arms tightly around the smaller girl, realizing she had had a nightmare.

"Shhh," she whispered to the shaken Latina as she stroked the back of her head, "It was just a dream," she soothed as Santana's small frame trembled in her arms. She held her tightly around her upper waist with her other arm and rocked her back and forth.

"It felt so real," Santana choked out through her sobs as she clung onto her girlfriend for dear life.

"It's okay sweetie, I'm right here," Brittany cooed, still stroking her hair. Santana tried to get ahold of herself. She was being ridiculous. It was only a dream.

"God I'm so pathetic," Santana hiccuped pitifully. Brittany pulled away to look at her girlfriend. Santana just stared down at the bed, ashamed of herself for being so weak. Ashamed she had let this guy, this shadow man, get to her and affect her like this.

"Hey," Brittany said as she tucked her hand underneath Santana's chin and raised her head slowly. Santana refused to meet her eyes. "Look at me," Brittany ordered softly. Santana hesitantly lifted her puffy red eyes to meet Brittany's piercing blue ones. "You are the strongest girl I know," she said sincerely as she cradled Santana's face in her hands, carresing her skin with her thumb. Santana leaned into her touch and closed her eyes as Brittany's calming effect settled over her. Brittany leaned forward and kissed a single tear that still lingered on her girlfriend's cheek, setting Santana's heart aglow. She can't remember ever loving Brittany more than she did in this moment. When Brittany pulled away after a few seconds, Santana closed the small space between them once more and placed a sweet, meaningful kiss on her lips.

"I love you so much Brittany," Santana said, her eyes moist with emotion now.

"I love you too San," Brittany returned, "You okay now?"

"I'm okay," she sniffled then gave her a grateful smile. "Thanks babe."

"Anytime," Brittany said sweetly.

"Sorry I woke you," Santana said guiltily.

"Don't worry about it," Brittany said softly as she struggled to keep her eyes open, realizing how exhausted she actually was. Santana smiled lovingly at her, deciding to let her go back to sleep.

"Okay well I'm gonna go downstairs and get a glass of water real quick," she said as she climbed out of bed. That dream had given her a lot to think about.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Brittany managed to get out through her yawn. Santana paused at the door to turn back and look at her exhausted girlfriend, smiling at her adoringly.

"That's okay babe. Go back to sleep," she said softly. Brittany nodded and smiled at her sleepily before settling back onto her pillow.

Santana crept out and closed the door quietly behind her before feeling her way downstairs and into the kitchen. She turned on one of the lights and fetched herself a glass. She glanced at the oven clock. It was just after three. She rubbed her tired eyes with her free hand as she walked over to the sink and turned on the faucet. She couldn't get that dream out of her head. The image of him stabbing Brittany so violently was almost enough to make her break down again. She couldn't bear it if anything were to happen to Brittany. And that dream made her realize that she was putting her in danger by keeping her around. She knew she should distance herself from Brittany, but she was too selfish. She already felt so alone with this secret. And shutting Brittany out completely? Shutting out the only light in her life? She didn't think she could survive it.

She stood there drinking her water and wrestling with her conscious for a while when she heard faint shuffling noises coming from the front of the house. She froze in place, and furrowed her brow. She could've sworn she was the only one down here. She strained her ears to listen for more, and heard faint scraping sounds shortly after. Her eyes widened when she realized where the sound was coming from. It was coming from the front door. Someone was struggling with the lock. Someone was trying to get in. She felt the adrenaline start to course through her body and she acted fast. She grabbed one of the large knives from the holder on the counter, then ran over to the wall and switched off the light. She scurried back over to the counter and crouched down on her hands and knees, poking her head out from behind it to watch the door. She could hear the knob jiggling and the scraping got more and more aggressive. She started to devise her plan of action in her head. She had the element of surprise and knew she had to keep that. That was her safest bet on beating him. So she would wait until he had his back turned and would stab him from behind, where he couldn't block her or get her first. She heard the lock finally click. She clutched the knife tighter. She was ready for him. The door opened and the tall, dark figure shuffled inside.

"Stupid key," Mr. Pierce mumbled gruffly.

"Fuck.." Santana breathed to herself, deeply relieved. She hung her head as all the built up tension flushed out of her body, shaking her head at herself. _Get a grip Santana_, she thought to herself. Mr. Pierce dropped his keys into his briefcase and started heading towards the kitchen. _Shit_. Santana realized how awkward it would be if he found her like this, hiding in the dark with a knife. She scooted across the tile and inched around the bar as he made his way to the place Santana was previously. She heard his briefcase land on the counter with a thud as he let out a heavy sigh.

Santana stayed there with her back against the wall, just waiting in the darkness. She found it odd that he hadn't turned any lights on. She wondered what the heck he was doing; she hadn't heard any movement in a while. And then her heart broke at what she heard next. Bill Pierce, the police chief, was crying.

Mr. Pierce was standing there running his hands through his greying hair, exhausted and frustrated. One of their main leads just led to a dead end so they were back to square one. Seven victims and they had nothing. Seven victims and the killer was still out there, looking for his next victim. And there was nothing he could do to stop it. He had tried to get the school closed down, but that was rejected with the reasoning that the killer would just move on to one of the other high schools, or if it was someone inside the school, it would be pointless because they already knew the students anyways. He thought about enforcing curfews but locked doors don't seem to do anything for this guy, and he never snagged his victims in public anyways. He didn't know what else to do. And all the deaths of these young girls and the ones to come we're on him. So he buried his face in his hands, and wept.

Santana wished she could sink into the ground. She didn't want to be here, imposing on his private moment. And she knew he would be horrified if he knew she was sitting here listening. She looked around for an escape. She knew the stairs would be impossible to walk up without being heard. She decided she would slip into the hallway and wait in the office until he went to his room. She carefully set the knife down on one of the bar chairs and got up on the balls of her feet. She didn't make a sound as she crept out from behind the bar. She crouched down and tiptoed towards the hallway, taking it one step at a time. She started gaining more confidence as she neared the hallway. And then her ankle popped. Santana froze in place and squeezed her eyes shut, praying he hadn't heard.

"Santana?" Mr. Pierce's confused voice called out softly. She stayed rooted to the spot, unsure of how to proceed.

"Santana is that you?" he said, squinting at the small-framed figure in the darkness. He was fairly certain it was her, and wondered where in the world she came from. He wiped his eyes and cheeks repeatedly, before walking over to the wall and switching on the overhead light.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to be here," she said turning around slowly. Mr. Pierce just shifted uncomfortably, embarrassed that she had heard him.

"What are you doing down here?" he asked, not unkindly, just wanting to shift the attention to her.

"I couldn't sleep," she said, not meeting his gaze. Bill looked at her scrutinizingly, recalling her unusual behavior earlier that evening at the dinner table.

"You sure you're okay? You know you can tell me anything," he said in a fatherly tone. She contemplated telling him right there. Just yelling out. But what would that do? They had no clues, no leads. No way to know who this guy is or where he could be. And they would take her away and put her in protective custody or whatever and she would be safe. But then the shadow man would know she told. And he would be pissed. And everyone she cared about would still be here. She would endanger their lives by attempting to save her own. Even the thought disgusted her. No authorities, she decided.

"I'm fine," she repeated as she had at dinner. "Are you okay?" she deflected, but was genuinely concerned. He bent over to lean on the counter as as he ran a stressed hand across his long face.

"I just don't know what to do anymore," he said sounding exhausted.

"Work didn't go so great, huh?" she inquired softly.

"That's the understatement of the year," he said grimly. "We just keep hitting dead end after dead end. Meanwhile the bodies just keep piling up and I just can't help but feel like it's all my fault," he said as his chin quivered ever so slightly after he finished speaking. She couldn't stand the fact that he was torturing himself over all of this. She couldn't imagine how he would take it when-if her name was added to the victim list. He would never forgive himself.

"You can't blame yourself for this mess," she began softly,"You've been working yourself to the bone. You've done everything you can.. _I _don't blame you," she said looking deep into his piercing blue eyes. She hoped he would keep those last words to reflect back on. She would hate to be the cause of further suffering, and hoped he would take comfort in her words later on.

"Thanks San," he said with a sad smile, which she returned, before pushing himself off the counter and returning to his lighter self. "Alright well, I better get my beauty sleep. These looks don't come easily," he said with a wink, earning him a playful scoff from Santana. "Night kid," he said as he messed her hair and pulled her into him for a quick hug. She playfully pushed off of him and smoothed her hair down, smiling at him. He chuckled before adding more finally,"Goodnight, Santana."

"Goodnight, Mr. P," she said before he turned and walked away, leaving her in the empty kitchen.

She stood there for a moment before deciding to go to bed as well, but stopped when she spotted Mr. Pierce's black briefcase in the corner of her eye. She turned towards it, knowing she shouldn't snoop through it. It was probably even illegal or something. But as she heard Mr. Pierce's bedroom door close, her curiosity got the better of her, and she sauntered over to it. The corner of a piece of paper was peeking out of the front pocket. She glanced back towards the hallway just to be sure before carefully sliding it out. It had the FBI seal printed at the top and was titled "The Profile". She engrossed herself in the words on the page.

"The perp is most likely a male and could be anywhere from his teenage years to his early thirties. People who know him would describe him as well-built, intelligent but insecure, and socially inferior. He is catergorized as a hedonistic thrill killer. His primary motive is to induce pain or terror in his victims, which provides stimulation and excitement for him. Thrill killers murder only for sport and there is no sexual aspect. Through his kills he seeks to prove his superiority and/or create a terroristic environment. He thinks of all this as a game, the hunt and then the kill.

"The killer seems to be very organized and meticulous. He abducts his victims, normally at dusk or dark, and never in public. He waits until they are completely alone, which suggest that he stalks them prior to their abduction. He would most likely own a larger vehicle in order to transport his victims. And, unless he contains his victims at another location, he would most likely own a house that is in a secluded area. The progressive torture suggests that he forces his victims to submit to something he requires. When they do, that is when he kills them and disposes of them. He also keeps the fingers of his victims essentially as a trophy. The fact that he does it in numerical order suggests that he's keeping count of his triumphs, either for himself or for everyone else, to boast about how many he's gotten away with. He enjoys the control he has over his victims because he is in charge, along with the ability to spread terror and feel more powerful-"

Santana was torn away from the words when she was starled by the sound of Mr. and Mrs. Pierces' bedroom doorknob turn, breaking through the silence. Her heart started racing as she scrambled with the paper and quickly stuffed it back in place. She jumped away from the briefcase and picked up her glass of water right as he turned the corner.

"Forgot my briefcase," he said simply as he strolled past her. She sipped at her water casually, hoping he wouldn't notice anything amiss. He retrieved it from the counter and lifted his phone out of the side compartment. "Okay g'night," he said as walked away, tapping his screen.

"Night," she said after him. She let out a sigh of relief, thankful he had been too distracted to notice anything, and too distracted to look at her. She didn't even have to see herself to know she probably looked like a ghost. She didn't know how to process all the information she had just recieved. All she knew is she sure as hell didn't want to be his next "triumph".

She numbly headed back up to Brittany's room and crawled into the bed. She tucked her legs up against her body and hugged them tightly as she stared blankly at the wall, knowing she wouldn't get anymore sleep that night.


	5. Three is a Crowd

** -5-**

**Three is a Crowd**

Santana was lying there watching Brittany sleeping peacefully through the sunlight that had just started streaming in through the curtains and listening to her soft breathing as it filled the silence. She slipped her hand under the slumbering girl's larger one that was resting lightly on her pillow, and gently cupped it with both of her hands as she pulled it to her mouth. She kissed Brittany's fingers softly and just held them there, resting against her lips. She watched her girlfriend's chest rise and fall steadily, smiling when her fingers would twitch every so often. She didn't want to worry Brittany anymore. She wanted her to be this peaceful all the time. And if these were the last times she would be spending with her, she didn't want them to be miserable for both of them. She decided she was going to put on a good face for Brittany from now on.

The alarm clock on her phone blasted through the peaceful silence. Santana jumped from the unexpected intrusion and groggily scooted over to the nightstand to shut it up. She turned back towards Brittany who had shifted from the disturbance and now had her back to the Latina, and eased herself over to the sleeping girl's side and propped her head up on her hand. She slipped her other hand under the girl's loose tank and lightly traced the contour of her abs.

"Brittany," she whispered softly, as she started feathering kisses slowly on her neck, breathing in the girl's fruity, floral scent. "Wake up, baby."

Brittany woke from her peaceful slumber, to something even better, in her opinion- the feel of her girlfriend's soft, full lips against her neck and her gentle hand caressing her abdomen. She loved waking up next to Santana. It just felt so normal and right. She kept still, never wanting her to stop.

After listening to Brittany breathing for the past three hours, Santana could tell that Brittany had woken up when her breathing pattern changed. But she still didn't stir. Santana smiled and shook her head lightly when she realized that Brittany was trying to fake it. _Challenge accepted_. She smiled into her kisses as she trailed up to Brittany's ear. She kissed the soft spot directly under the earlobe that she knew Brittany loved and saw the corners of Brittany's mouth turn up ever so slightly. Santana chuckled airily and nibbled Brittany's earlobe gently. Brittany broke her resolve and giggled cutely as she eased her clear blue eyes open and looked up at Santana, who was giggling along with her.

"Good morning, sunshine," Santana said with a bright smile. Brittany smiled as she wrapped her arms around Santana's waist and pulled her down onto the bed on the other side of her, her legs now draping across Brittany's waist. She kept the tight embrace, keeping their lips in close proximity.

"You're even better than a dream," Brittany said softly before placing a sweet kiss on Santana's lips.

"You _are_ my dream," Santana whispered back into her girlfriend's lips before sealing their lips together once more.

* * *

><p>They walked downstairs a few minutes later and were met the delicious smell of bacon drifting from the kitchen. Santana's stomach grumbled in request after being deprived of food last night. Brittany started bouncing as she walked in anticipation of the food she knew was waiting for them in the kitchen.<p>

"Morning Hannah," Brittany said happily to the small girl sitting in the family room, already ready for school. She turned and greeted them both happily before turning back to the Spongebob episode she was watching. They entered the bright kitchen and were greeted with the overwhelming smell of bacon and then the more subtle smell of the eggs Mrs. Pierce was frying.

"Good morning, girls!" she greeted them cheerfully, "There's bacon and bagels on the table. I'm almost done with your eggs. And there's orange juice over there as well," she continued busily.

They shuffled over to the table and Brittany poured them both some juice while Santana spread the strawberry cream cheese on their bagel halves. They sat down beside each other and soon after, Mrs. Pierce came over and slid Brittany's egg, sunny side up, onto her plate and then Santana's over-easy egg onto hers.

"Alright, I gotta go. Have a good day, girls. I love you," she said as she kissed the top of their heads. "Hannah, time to go!" she called over to her and Hannah shut off the TV obediently.

"Bye, mom. I love you," Brittany returned easily.

"Thanks, Mama P. Love you too," Santana said gratefully. They watched as she joined Hannah at the door and followed her out.

The house fell comfortably silent once all the commotion around them had ceased and they relaxed into the peaceful atmosphere that settled around them. Brittany hummed quietly as they ate. Santana always loved how she did that, which was mostly every time she ate. It was comforting and familiar, just because it was so Brittany. And she couldn't help but smile when she realized Brittany was humming "Disco Duck". She let her mind wander back to the day she showed Brittany that song.

_It was freshman year. Brittany's boyfriend had just broken up with her and she was taking it pretty hard. He had been her first. Brittany had called her that afternoon crying so hard Santana could barely understand her. She hopped on her bike without hesitation and peddled as fast as she could to Brittany's house. Mrs. Pierce had been out in the yard gardening and told her to go right up. She eased Brittany's door open and poked her head in. Brittany was sitting up on the bed looking quite pitiful with her puffy blue eyes and tear-stained cheeks. When she saw Santana she started crying even harder and Santana crawled up next to her onto the bed. Brittany laid her head down on Santana's lap, her tears flowing down Santana's leg. Santana just stroked her head and whispered consoling words, wishing there was more she could do. She hated seeing her hurt more than anything. Then she remembered a song that she had heard the other day that she had been meaning to show Brittany, knowing she would absolutely love it._

_"I got something that'll cheer you up," she had told her. Brittany sniffled and rose her head to look up at her best friend with questioning eyes as Santana walked over to Brittany's laptop. She went to YouTube and typed in disco duck in the search bar. Santana clicked on the one she was looking for then turned around to watch Brittany's reaction. There was no change in her sorrowful demeanor at the start of the song. That was until she heard the quacking. Her eyes sparked with light at the sound of her favorite animal and she cracked an amused smile. As the song progressed, she had slowly started moving to the beat from the bed and started giggling uncontrollably when the duck's part came on. Santana laughed along with her, loving that she was so entertained by the song. The song ended and Brittany clapped happily, beaming at Santana. _

_"Again!" she said again excitedly. Santana chuckled and pressed the replay button for the first of many times that day._

"What are you smiling at?" Brittany stopped humming to ask lightly, side-eying her girlfriend as she poured herself more orange juice.

"I was just thinking about the day I showed you that song. Do you remember?" Santana replied.

"Of course," Brittany replied before continuing reminiscently, "And I don't remember it as sad or awful like it should've been. I remember it as the day that I started falling in love with you. You came over to make me feel better, like you always do. But that time it wasn't just better. It was joyful and.. whole. That was the day you started filling my heart," she finished, smiling contently.

"Awh.. babe," Santana swooned, leaning over to give Brittany a sweet kiss before returning to her food.

Even though she seemed happy, Brittany couldn't help but notice how exhausted Santana looked from the bright lighting in the kitchen. Her eyes were bloodshot and there were red rings around the edges of her eyes and light purple bags underneath them. Brittany remembered how upset Santana had been last night. She vaguely recalled Santana saying something about losing her and was itching to know more, but she didn't want to bring down the light mood. She took a few more bites of her bagel before her curiosity got the best of her.

"Can I ask you something?" she asked cautiously, hoping Santana wouldn't shut down. Santana knew that tone and instantly felt her guard go up.

"Mhmm," she said with a casual tone as she tore off a piece of bacon.

"What was your nightmare about?" Brittany asked curiously. Santana didn't want to reveal the dark truth, fearing it would trouble Brittany, so she decided to lie once again. That, and she impulsively lied whenever this subject came up now.

"We were driving on a bridge and I lost control of the car so we crashed into the lake. You were unconscious so I unbuckled my seat belt and tried to undo yours but it was stuck. I swam back up to get some air and dove back under to help you, but the car was sinking faster than I could swim. And I just kept swimming after you, watching you get smaller and smaller. And that's when I woke up," Santana finished, now depressed from that mental image. _Jesus, Santana. You couldn't have just gone with you lost her in the woods or something? _

"That's horrible..." Brittany said quietly, chewing on her lip. Santana was mentally kicking herself for still managing to damper Brittany's mood. "I should stop wearing a seat belt," Brittany concluded after a silent spell. Santana laughed good-naturedly at Brittany's revelation.

"Or maybe you just shouldn't let me drive anymore," Santana added lightly. They both laughed heartily and finished up the rest of their breakfast.

* * *

><p>Santana was sitting in Economics several hours later listening to the teacher drone on and on about supply and demand, finding herself nodding off on occasion. She was exhausted from the long school day she had had so far and the lack of sleep was catching up to her. But she was grateful nothing out of the ordinary had happened. She had half expected to find a box on Brittany's doorstep, waiting for her this morning. But she was greatly relieved that her plan to escape the little wooden box had worked. She wondered if there would be one waiting for her when she got home.<p>

"Okay so who do you think the killer is? I personally think it's Tyler Newton," Santana heard from a whispered conversation behind her. It was two hockey jocks, Brad Keller and Jeremy Dixon.

"Hmm.. that's actually a pretty good guess. He's always talking about how much he hates girls," Jeremy whispered back, contemplatively. "I would say that freak in our science class but he doesn't have the balls... I don't know.. maybe Karofsky."

"Nah if it was Karofsky, he'd be killing off all the queers," he said, causing them both to chuckle. Santana grit her teeth, trying to keep her anger at bay.

"You're right.. Too bad." Jeremy said, spurring more hushed laughter. Santana couldn't stay silent any longer. She wheeled around to face the two jocks, seething with rage.

"Excuse me?" she said hostilely, not bothering to keep her voice quiet, which caused a few heads to turn.

"Oh, we were just saying how it would be awesome if you and your fellow faggots could just drop dead," Jeremy sneered quietly so only she could hear. Santana shot up out of her seat and lunged at the tall boy, but was caught around the waist by a pair of strong arms, also adorned in a leather jacket.

"Let go of me Puck!" she growled angrily as she struggled to get out of his vice grip, wanting to rip Jeremy's smug face off. Puck wheeled around to put himself in between the two.

"Get out of my classroom Santana!" Mr. Hawkins yelled forcefully from the front of the classroom.

When he decided it was safe, Puck released her and reached over to her desk to grab her books. She smoothed down her uniform coolly and gathered up the books Puck offered out to her before calmly striding out into the hallway.

As soon as she was out into the hallway she dropped her collected demeanor and took deep breaths as she stormed to her locker in an attempt to calm her rage. She wished Puck hadn't intervened, but was also grateful he did. She would've killed that bastard. She mumbled curse words under her breath as she put in her locker combo, failing the first couple of times because she couldn't concentrate. She finally got it and threw her locker door open, not expecting what was inside.

* * *

><p>"Fucking lesbian," Jeremy muttered as everyone settled back down, receiving a fist pound from Brad. Puck clenched his fists, trying to control himself. He wondered if that was what the scuffle was about- Santana's sexuality. If that was the case, he wished he had joined her in tearing the asshole limb from limb. He at least shouldn't have let her walk out alone. She probably needed someone to talk to right now...<p>

"Mr. Hawkins can I go to the restroom?" he asked, throwing his hand into the air.

"Can't it wait Noah? There's only a few more minutes of class left.." he said impatiently from his desk, typing away furiously on his keyboard.

"No way. I gotta go somethin' fierce.. I'm prairie doggin' it," he said seriously, feigning desperation.

"Just go," the teacher said, waving him off in disgust, just wanting to get rid of him. Puck hopped up out of his seat and scurried out of the classroom.

He made his way through the hallway and turned the corner, spotting Santana at her locker, all alone in the hallway. She was reading something she held in her hand. A small something. And either it was in 2 point font or written in Japanese because she was still staring at it when he approached her. She was so engrossed in the note she didn't even notice him walk up to her. He glanced in her locker and noticed a strange cryptic box that looked oddly misplaced before focusing his attention back on her.

"Hey-," he started, about to ask if she was okay, but was quickly cut off by the sound of her locker slamming shut, startling him. "Jesus San, what the hell?" he asked bewildered.

"Why the hell are you always sneaking up on me?" she asked in a frustrated tone, throwing cautious looks to her locker. Puck glanced at the locker suspiciously before focusing back on the Latina, who was five shades lighter than her normal caramel tone, wondering what the hell he just missed. He followed the length of her stiff arm to the note she was clutching tightly with a trembling hand, extremely confused. He had never seen Santana so...scared. Something serious was going down. And it had to do with whatever was in that box.

"..What's going on San?" he asked warily.

"Nothing," she said as casually as she could. This was the last thing she needed right now.

"What was that?" he asked, motioning towards the locker, referring to the small, mysterious box she was so desperate to hide.

"It's nothing," she retorted.

"What is that?" he pressed, now referring to the note in her hand.

"Nothing Puck. Jesus. What do you want?" she asked, agitated by his questioning.

"I'm sorry. I just wanted to make sure you were okay," he said defensively.

"Well I'm fine," she returned sharply.

"Yeah I can see that," he returned sarcastically, his own anger rising. The bell sounded overhead, momentarily distracting Santana. Puck seized the opportunity and snatched the small note from Santana's clammy hand.

"Puck! Fucking give it back!" Santana said wildly, trying to get it back from him. But he maneuvered around her every move, making it impossible. Puck struggled with the fiery Latina as he read the printed words: _Roses are red, violets are blue. And you will be too, just like victim two. _He froze in place with a furrowed brow when he finished, trying to make sense of what he just read. As soon as he did Santana snatched it back, crumpling it into her fist.

"You shouldn't have done that," she said nervously, glancing around the hallway as it filled with people.

"What the hell was that Santana?" he inquired sternly.

"Please Puck, just let it go," she pleaded, not wanting him to get involved and not knowing how to lie her way out of this one.

"Yeah like I'm gonna let that go," he scoffed before looking at her fiercely. "I'm not gonna quit until you tell me-"

"Fine!" she said quietly. "But not here," she said, glancing around nervously once more. He nodded, glancing around as well for whatever they were supposed to be looking for. She looked at him with a raised eyebrow in serious doubt of her decision, before saying, "I'll call you later."

"Okay," he said as she turned to leave. "Oh and San," he said after her.

"Yeah?" she asked, turning around face him once more.

"Everything's gonna be okay," he said reassuringly, feeling that she needed to hear that. She gave him a grateful smile before turning back to the sea of students, hardening her features to mask her fear.

* * *

><p>Brittany was leaning against her locker waiting for Santana when she spotted her walking towards her, strutting the halls like the head cheerio she was.<p>

"Hey babe, you ready?" Santana said cheerfully, holding out her hand. Brittany smiled slightly and laced their fingers together as they began to walk to cheerio practice.

"So.. I heard you almost got in a fight," Brittany said disappointedly after a period of silence. Santana's face fell. Of course she had heard. _Damn technology._

"Yeah well I wish that I would have. That jackass would've deserved it," she said bitterly.

"Santana-," Brittany began in a scolding tone before Santana cut her off.

"Look Brittany, I know what you're gonna say. I know you don't like when I resort to violence and I'm sorry but that's just who I am," she said firmly. Brittany cast her head down and stared at their hands.

"Yeah I know," Brittany said sadly as she swung their arms. "It's just.. I don't want to see you get hurt," she added. Santana's heart pulled painfully in her chest, not knowing what to say in response.

"You shouldn't worry so much," Santana finally said sadly. They reached the locker room and Brittany was about to reply when Sue Sylvester's cutting voice interrupted their conversation.

"Sandbags! My office now," she commanded from her office door before disappearing behind it once more. Santana groaned, not wanting to deal with Sue and all her crazy. Brittany smiled at her amusedly before telling her she would see her in a minute and went on her way. Santana dragged her feet to her coach's office and entered the room, bracing herself.

"Have a seat Santana," Sue said gesturing to the seat in front of her desk. Santana obediently walked over to the seat and sat down under Sue's scrutinizing gaze. "I received two emails a few minutes ago. One was a lunch invitation from the Secretary of Defense this Saturday to discuss some recent developments in our nuclear warheads... The second was from good ole Figgy, informing me that my head cheerio was involved in an almost physical altercation with a one Jeremy Dixon... Care to explain?" Sue asked in her bored yet firm tone.

"I'm sorry, Coach. There is no excuse. My anger got the best of me and I just lost control," Santana answered respectfully.

"You know Santana, back when I took the heavyweight title in '78 I learned a very important lesson. And that was while violence may not solve everything.. it sure as hell makes you feel better. I don't care that you almost knocked that pimple poppers teeth out. In fact, I'm a tad disappointed that he's not being care-flighted to Dayton Medical right now. That kid makes me want to set the immediate area around my crotch on fire. But, I told Figgins I would punish you accordingly and you know I'm a woman of my word, so... I'm gonna have to ask you to smell this," she said as she held out a soiled sock with a pair of tongs.

"Oh god! Who's is that?" Santana asked with a disgusted face, already catching a whiff of the rank smell wafting off of the offensive article of clothing.

"The Beiste's," she said with a proud smirk, "I went through a lot of trouble to get this including aquiring twenty pounds of molasses and paying off a hobo with a year's supply of beef jerky. If you're having sinus problems, no need to thank me. I'm just doing what I can to get rid off all the sickies contaminating my air," she finished, then looked at her expectantly. Santana hesitantly leaned towards the stained sock with a pained expression before inhaling the smell of dead animals and baterial fungi. She forced back the gag that threatened to break through her resolve, not wanting to show any form of weakness in front of her coach.

"Impressive. Previous students have cried. And that was before I added the putrescine," Sue said, pleased with her head cheerio. "You know Santana, aside from the boob job and the fact that you have a girlfriend that often confuses her megaphone for a dunce cap, I don't have a problem with you. I might even like you..," she trailed off seeming to mull that last thought over. Santana waited a few moments in confused amusement for her to follow up her thought, but instead Sue threw out her hands and said, "What the hell are you still doing here? You have a squad to run." And with that Santana quickly got up and left.

* * *

><p>They returned to the locker room an hour and a half later, exhausted and covered in sweat. Sue had them all do wind sprints for the last twenty minutes of practice and Santana was close to collapsing. She loved her sleep and less than four hours was not acceptable. She dragged her feet to the shower and almost fell asleep from the relaxing feel of the water cascaded down her body. She reluctantly turned the water off and got dressed, slowly pulling on each article of clothing. Brittany finished getting ready and came and sat down beside Santana on the bench as she was putting on her shoes.<p>

"You look terrible," Brittany said bluntly as she took in Santana's physical state. She looked like she had rode a roller coaster twenty times in a row, and her limbs looked weak as they tied her laces together feebly. "Are you feeling okay?"

"I just need some sleep," Santana said sounding completely drained. "Or caffeine... or an adrenaline shot... or cocaine," she rambled slowly before letting out a tired chuckle, amused with herself. Brittany raised an eyebrow and looked at Santana questioningly.

"Should you be driving?" she asked uncertainly.

"Please, I could drive in my sleep. I'm fine Brittany, really. You really should stop worrying.. you big worry wart," she said with another chuckle as she finished tying her other shoe. She dropped her foot on the ground heavily and heaved herself up. She dragged her big gym bag off the bench and let it land with a thud. She looked at it resentfully before deciding there was no way in hell she was carrying that and set off for her car, dragging it behind her. Brittany looked after her girlfriend and shook her head, chuckling lightly. She got up and slung her own bag over her shoulder before catching up to Santana and grabbing her bag as well. Santana smiled tiredly, yet thankfully at her and they walked to her car.

"I think I'm just gonna crash when I get home Britt. Do you want me to just drop you off at your house?" Santana asked.

"Yeah that's fine," Brittany replied simply. Santana started the car and cranked up the music to make sure she stayed alert.

* * *

><p>Santana trudged up the stairs to her room after dropping off Brittany, willing herself not to think about anything but how tired she was. She nudged her door open with her foot and dropped her bag down by her bed before collapsing headfirst onto her bed, falling asleep before she even hit the mattress.<p>

She was enjoying a dreamless sleep until she suddenly became aware of a noise filling the room.

_Stacy's mom has got it goin' on_

_She's all I want, and I've waited so long_

_Stacy, can't you see you're just not the girl for me_

_I know it might be wrong,_

_but I'm in love with Stacy's mom_

She lay there and let it play, sleep still clouding her mind. It wasn't until it stopped and started back up again that she realized it was her phone. She grumbled unhappily as she dragged herself to the edge of the bed and reached down to retrieve her phone from the side pocket of her gym bag. She slid it up and put it to her ear.

"What?" she grumbled, not bothering to hide her annoyance.

"_It's about time,_" The voice answered from the other line, "_I've called you like four times_."

"Puck?" she questioned, still not completely alert.

"_Wait, did you just wake up_?" he asked. It was then that she realized why he was so eager to get a hold of her and the events of that day came flooding back to her. She had completely forgotten that he was expecting a call.

"..No," she mumbled as she sat up, trying to rouse herself.

"_Yeah that was convincing. So are you gonna tell me what's going on with you_?" he asked, cutting straight to the point.

"You know, it was really nothing. Someone's just been hassling me. Just forget about it," she said casually, hoping there was still a chance to get him off her case.

"_Then let's just go to Figgins and_-"

"No!" she said suddenly, more loudly then she meant to. She squeezed her eyes shut and mentally cursed herself for letting her emotions betray her. "I mean it's fine. I can handle it," she tried to recover, but to no avail.

"_Santana.. what's going on? Why won't you just let me in?_" he asked earnestly.

"It's not that simple," she replied, sounding pained.

"_Well then I guess I'm just gonna have to find out for myself. Starting with that box in your_-"

"God Puck, why are you doing this?" she cut him off, frustrated.

"_Because I care about you Santana. And if something is worrying you or whatever, I want to know... You're my badass buddy_," he said. Her heart softened, realizing she couldn't blame him for pushing so hard- he was just being a good friend. She would've done the same to him.

"You stopped being a badass once you had a kid," she returned gamely, the corners of her mouth turning up slightly.

"_Hey now. I still got a little bit of mojo,_" he defended himself.

"Bull," she said and they both chuckled. There was a moment of silence as she mulled over what to do. He seemed to sense it and waited patiently. She didn't want to tell him something like this over the phone. "Can you come over?" she asked.

"_Yeah sure. I'll head right over,_" he replied.

"Okay. See you in a bit," she said.

She chucked her phone onto her bed and threw herself back onto the comforter. She didn't like the situation one bit. But on the other hand, she was relieved that she wouldn't have to carry this all by herself anymore. There were so many conflicting emotions going on and she didn't know how to handle them. She grabbed her pillow and pressed it hard against her face, groaning in frustration. She waited there for several minutes battling her thoughts and emotions, not knowing what she should do. But she figured it was too late now, he was already coming over. _Oh shit, he's coming over_, she thought as she flung the pillow off her face. She just realized that that might not have been the best plan seeing as the killer knew where she lived. She remembered the profile mentioning that the killer possibly stalks his victims. What if he was watching her house right now? Would he know she was planning on telling him? She couldn't imagine how. Would he just automatically assume that someone coming over was a threat? That seemed unlikely, otherwise there would have been an additional pile of bodies with each victim. The thought alone that he could be out there right now made the hair on her neck stand up. Maybe she should call Puck and tell him to meet her somewhere else. She picked up her phone and looked at the time. 7:42. When did she hang up with Puck? She looked at her calls. 7:20. _What the hell? Has it really been twenty minutes?_ Puck should've been here by now. His house was only like ten minutes away. _Maybe he just got held up_, she tried to reassure herself. She sat there chewing on her lip as she watched the seconds tick by fighting with herself on whether to call him or not. She decided against it, telling herself she was just being paranoid. Puck was never on time for anything, after all. Then five minutes later, the melodic chimes of the doorbell filled the house.

"Finally!" she called out to the emptiness, immediately jumping off the bed. She padded down the polished tile and walked down the steps at a quick pace. She got to the grandiose front door and flung it open.

"Well it's about-" she stopped, as she was met with nothing but the wind as it greeted her, rushing through her hair. She looked around the evening scene before her, looking for Puck, or whoever it was that rang her doorbell. Then she looked down. Her eyes widened as she was met with the sight of yet another wooden box. Her breath hitched in her throat as she realized it was him that rang her doorbell, which means he was still in close proximity of her house- of her. She looked around once more for any sign of life but found nothing. She knew he was watching her, feeding off her reaction, so she quickly snatched up the box and retreated back inside, slamming the door behind her. She ran into the den and sat down on the leather couch, setting the box on the glass tabletop. She undid the clasp and slipped the note out that was sitting on top of the three severed fingers, shivering. She held it up to read the words: _Three is a crowd, I told you you'd pay. You wanna play games? I can do this all day._ The note slipped from her fingers as the words registered. _No_, she thought. _No, no, no, please no_. She shot off the couch and started pacing the floor as she whipped out her phone and started scrolling through her contacts, the screen quickly becoming bleary from her moistening eyes. She found Puck's name and pressed call. She held up the phone to her ear.

"God, please be okay. Please be okay," she repeated as she waited out the rings, her breathing short and shallow.

"Yo! This is Puck-"

"Puck?" she cried out questioningly.

"-you know the drill," the machine finished.

"Fuck!" she cried out, typing on her phone frantically to try him again. "Please pick up," she pleaded as she knawed on her nails. Nothing. She cried out in frustration as she threw her phone as hard as she could onto the couch. She ran her fingers through her hair roughly, as she tried to figure out what to do next but stopped abruptly when her phone started ringing. But instead of "Stacy's Mom", it was the chorus of "Songbird" that sang out. _Brittany_. She quickly tried to collect herself before she grabbed her phone and slid it up to answer it.

"Hello?" she said before her girlfriend replied with an unsteady voice.

"Santana.. it's Puck..."

* * *

><p><strong>AN** So I am still undecided on Puck's fate as of right now because I wanted to get y'all involved so sound off in the reviews! But I hope you liked this update. I especially loved writing Sue and I hope that went over well cuz I freaking love her.

And, of course, a big hug and a thank you to my dedicated readers. Until next time. :)


	6. Into the Darkness

**A/N: **Hey guys! So sorry for the wait! College research paper. Nuff said. Then I had a much needed vacation and then i was finally able to get back to writing. If I have anymore readers that have stuck around I love you and I apolize in advance for this chapter because I kind of teared up writing it. But that could've also been because I was listening to Promise by Ben Howard on repeat as I wrote. I'll never know. But don't give up on me after this chapter though I know it may look grim right now. And as always, reviews are much appreciated. Happy reading! :)

* * *

><p><strong>-<strong>**6-**

**Into The Darkness**

"What do we got Derek?" Bill asked his young deputy as he looked at the scene before him that was fading quickly in the evening sun. There were pieces of metal strewn across the small back road and the source of the wreckage was cast off in a ditch. The forensic team had placed crime scene tape around the perimeter of the area, and were now placing markers on various pieces of wreckage before snapping pictures.

"Hit and run," the deputy returned, "Forensics are sayin' it doesn't look like it was an accident, though."

"Why's that?" Bill asked, intrigued.

"Well he was hit from behind with enough force to take out a diesel truck," Derek said, scratching his dark hair, "Looks like someone was gunnin' for him." Bill looked back at the mangled motorcycle sullenly with his hands on his waist. He would hate to have been the one driving it.

"How's the driver doing?" Bill asked grimly.

"Hell, he'll be lucky if he makes it to the hospital. Wasn't wearin' a helmet. Damn teenagers," he grumbled bitterly.

"Teenager? Do we have a name?" Bill asked.

"Yeah we pulled his ID off him- it's Noah Puckerman," the deputy returned.

"Dammit," Bill muttered, rubbing the back of his head, recalling the image of the mohawked juvenile he frequently had down at the station.

"You know him?" Derek inquired.

"Yeah... I know him," Bill said. But more importantly, so does Brittany.

* * *

><p>"Wait, so you're back on the Cheerios?" Brittany said excitedly into the phone, bouncing up and down on her bed.<p>

"Yeah! Coach let me back on this afternoon!" Quinn answered, equally excited.

"That's awesome Q!" Brittany beamed before considering what that could mean. "Wait... you're not gonna be captain, are you?"

"No, not yet," Quinn said with a sigh. "Maybe if I work hard enough I can get it back."

"Oh..." Brittany said, crestfallen. "Well try not to do that until after we graduate 'cause San has worked really hard for this."

"I won't be- ...nevermind. So what are you singing for Glee club this week?" Quinn asked.

"I was thinking-" she began but was cut off by sharp beeping. "Oh hey, someone's on the other line."

"Oh okay. I'll just see you tomorrow, Britt," Quinn said sweetly before hanging up.

"Hello?" Brittany spoke into the other line.

"Hey sweetheart," her dad's voice replied softly.

"Oh hey, Dad," she brightened. "What's up?"

"Well.. there's something I have to tell you.." he hesitated.

"What is it?" she asked, concerned.

"There's been an accident.." he said with another pause. Immediately her thoughts flew to Santana and panic flooded her mind.

"Oh my god, is Santana okay?" she asked in a fearful rush, her chest clenching painfully.

"No no she's fine, sweetie. She's fine," he quickly reassured her. "It's uh- it's Noah Puckerman."

"Puck?" Brittany said, confused. "What do you mean? Is he okay?"

"He was in a motorcycle accident... It doesn't look good honey," he said gravely. Brittany breath caught in her chest and her eyes started stinging as the words sank in. They had never been the best of friends but Puck was family. And she knew him and Santana were close. _Oh god, Santana._

"Does Santana know?" she asked solemnly.

"No, not yet. I figured it would be best if she heard it from you. But I can call her if you want," he said gently.

"No, that's okay. I'll do it," she braved. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to, but she was gonna try.

"Okay sweetie. Well I'm heading to the hospital right now if you want to meet me there," he said. She nodded in response before realizing he couldn't see it. So she cleared her throat and produced a reply.

"Okay," she said sullenly.

"I love you sweetheart," he said softly.

"Love you too Dad," she said quietly before the call ended. She kept the phone to her ear and stared at her wall. Why were all these bad things happening? Why did it have to happen to a friend? How would she tell Santana? She took deep breaths as she searched for Santana's name on her phone. She swallowed down her anxiety and pressed call as she slowly rose the phone back to her ear and counted the rings.

"Hello?" Santana answered sounding distant.

"Santana.. it's Puck..." she said unsteadily.

"What are you talking about? What's happened?" Santana asked, suddenly sounding terrified.

"He was in a motorcycle accident... He's hurt really bad, San," she said tearfully, her eyes welling up with emotion at her own words. She heard a sharp intake of breath at the other end.

"Is he okay though? Is he gonna be okay?" Santana asked in a panicked rush.

"I don't know," Brittany returned, barely above a whisper. She heard a muffled sob from the other end and her face contorted with pain at the sound. "I'm going to the hospital right now. I can pick you up on the way," she said softly.

"'kay," Santana managed out through her sobs.

"Okay. See you in a bit.. I love you," she said gently into the receiver.

"I love you too," her girlfriend returned shakily. Brittany hung up the phone and heaved out a shaky breath as the tears finally welled over and started trickling down her cheeks. She closed her eyes and tried to mentally prepare herself for what was to come. She didn't know if she could handle seeing Puck so hurt. But she knew Santana would be even worse off, so she needed to be strong for her. She had to be.

* * *

><p>Santana was stabbing angrily at the dirt in her secluded backyard with a hand shovel, glaring fiercely at the ground through her tears. She dug quickly and thrust the small box into the hole she had just made, shoving it hard into the ground before hastily throwing the soil back over it. Her mind was in a frenzy, just repeating the same thought over and over again. All she could think was this was all her fault. She sobbed uncontrollably as she patted down the dirt. She sat back on her legs when she finished and stared out into the darkness as she let her tears flow freely down her face. She wanted to scream into the black night that surrounded her. She wanted to break the ground beneath her until it was nothing but rubble. She wanted to find that son of bitch and kill him.<p>

Her phone rang out and she picked it up as she pushed herself off the ground, knowing it was Brittany to tell her she was here.

"I'm coming," she said hastily into the receiver, not needing Brittany to say anything. She hung up the phone and started mopping up the puddles under her eyes. She knew she probably looked like shit. She was still dressed in her black sweats from after practice with a dark purple jacket thrown over her white tank, and her hair was in a tangled, damp mess of a ponytail. But she couldn't care less. She made her way to the front door, threw it open, and set the security code before stepping out and locking the door behind her. She walked briskly to Brittany's Yaris, glaring around her dark neighborhood. She opened the door and flung herself in the passenger side before closing the door.

She could immediately feel the emotional tension in the car as she silently buckled her seat belt, and as Brittany started pulling out from in front of her house, she suddenly felt suffocated in the stifling car. She rolled down the window and rested her folded arms on the door as the cool wind rushed to greet her. She laid her head down on her arms and closed her eyes, taking deep breaths. She didn't know if she was ready for this. How could she see him lying helpless in a hospital bed, knowing she was the reason he was there? Or what if he didn't make it? How could she live with herself? Another sob escaped her lips and she pushed her mouth into her arm, hoping to silence it and the ones that followed. She could feel Brittany's concerned stare on her as her body shook from the sobs that we're racking through her. She tried taking deep breaths to pull herself together, but she just choked on them. She felt Brittany's hand rest timidly on her thigh and she instinctively reached down and laced her fingers through her girlfriend's.

"I don't think I can do this, Britt," she said tearfully, clinging to her girlfriend's hand for dear life. Brittany paused.

"Well you won't be alone," Brittany said with a squeeze to Santana's hand. Santana finally lifted her head to look at Brittany, but instead of a smile, her face was contorted with despair and dread.

"Hey it's gonna be okay, babe," Santana said softly even though she couldn't believe so herself. She just hated seeing Brittany in so much pain. She had to say something.

"No it's not that..," Brittany said miserably. "Who's gonna tell everyone else?"

* * *

><p>They arrived at the hospital fifteen minutes later. Santana had fresh tears in her eyes from her phone call with Quinn. She knew Quinn would take it hard so she wanted to be the one to tell her. Brittany had called Mr. Schue who agreed to call the rest of the glee club, which they were both relieved by. They couldn't handle much more.<p>

Brittany parked the car and Santana flew out of it, now just needing to know if he was okay more than anything. She jogged across the parking lot with Brittany close behind her until they reached the sliding doors. She stopped and took a deep breath to prepare herself as Brittany slipped a supportive hand in hers once more. Santana gave her a small, grateful smile before they continued through the doors together.

Santana squinted as her eyes adjusted to the brightness of the large hospital. It smelled like cleaning solvents and everywhere she looked was white. It felt alien and cold. There were nurses and doctors running around frantically with large folders in their hands and people walking around aimlessly with grief-stricken faces. She realized that's probably what she looked like as well. Then she spotted Mr. Pierce sitting in a cushioned chair in the large waiting room off to her left and she took long strides in his direction, pulling Brittany with her. The sheriff looked up to see them and rose from his chair.

"How is he? How's he doing?" Santana rushed out when he met them halfway. He placed both hands on her shoulders and looked at her softly.

"We don't know yet; he's in surgery. They don't know much right now so we just have to wait it out," he said softly and her shoulders slumped forward. He pulled her into his chest and embraced her in a comforting hug, tucking her head under his chin. Santana closed her eyes and breathed in the smell of his familiar cologne, taking in the comfort of his fatherly embrace. Then he shifted her as Brittany's warm body joined in on the hug. They stood there in their tight embrace for what seemed like hours rather than seconds until they all retreated into the waiting room to wait out the hours until they would hear something.

* * *

><p>A few hours later and everyone from glee club was there, along with Puck's family. Shelby had also shown up with Beth, who was now in Quinn's arms. Silent tears were streaming down the blonde's face as she clung to her toddler desperately. Rachel was sitting next to her, stroking her blonde locks while trying to keep her own tears at bay. Finn was slumped on the ground against the opposite wall staring off into a hopeless oblivion. Puck's family was off to the side; Mr. Schue was consoling his mother, who was sobbing uncontrollably. The rest of the club members weren't taking it as hard and were just sitting in their seats with worried faces, waiting for the doctor to deliver whatever news he had.<p>

Santana looked around at the room, at Quinn's quiet cries, Rachel's trembling lip, Finn's empty eyes, Mrs. Puckerman's deafening sobs, and everyone else's furrowed brows and worried eyes.

"This is all my fault," she whispered, wide-eyed.

"What?" Brittany asked, pulling her body away from the Latina's to look at her.

"He was coming to my house, Britt. And I was gonna-" she cut off, stopping herself from finishing that dangerous thought. "If I hadn't told him to come over, this wouldn't have happened," she said.

"Babe, this is not your fault, okay? Accidents happen," Brittany said soothingly.

"This wasn't an accident," Santana whispered, her eyes darkening. Santana knew that, but she knew Brittany and everyone else wouldn't know that yet. She figured Mr. Pierce was withholding that information so as not to increase concern in this grave moment.

"What are you talking about, San?" Brittany asked, furrowing her brow. Santana didn't answer. She had already said too much. Instead she stood up and started walking towards the bathroom to get away from the miserable scene surrounding her. As she neared the doorway, a greying man with deep lines in his face entered, ending up right in front of her. She stared at the doctor, frozen in place.

"Mrs. Puckerman?" he asked, as everyone turned to look at him. Mrs. Puckerman rose up on shaky legs as Mr. Schue escorted her to meet the doctor. He spoke softly when he addressed her next.

"He endured massive head trauma and broke several ribs and an arm, along with some major scrapes and bruises. We did everything we could but he slipped into a coma, and due to the extremity of his head injury, there's no telling when or if he will ever wake up," he finished gravely.

Santana stumbled backwards and her vision went out of focus. But she could see Mrs. Puckerman. In fact, that was the only thing she could see. And suddenly the woman looked ten years older as her knees gave way and she was caught by Mr. Schue, who lowered them gently to the ground. Unrelenting tears poured down her face as her hysterical cries echoed back to Santana, sounding miles away. Then Puck's sister was by her mother's side, embracing her in a desperate hug, as she too began to sob. Santana guiltily directed her small orb of focus away from the grief-stricken pair, only to be met with Finn, who was pushing away from Rachel's consoling arms, angry tears streaming down his face. He punched the vending machine he was standing by and stormed off, leaving Rachel behind, looking smaller than ever. She recognized Quinn's cries but couldn't find the source. But they sounded pained and hopeless and she wanted to tell her how sorry she was, and how much she wished it was her instead. She wanted to tell everyone.

"San?" Brittany's voice echoed in her ears, as her concerned face filled Santana's vision.

"I'm so sorry," Santana whispered, and then everything went black.

* * *

><p>"Santana?" the muffled voice of her girlfriend said, pulling her back from the darkness. "Santana?"<p>

Santana's eyes flitted open to find Brittany's glossy blue eyes staring back at hers, filled with worry. She was lying on one of the couches in the waiting room. Her head was lying in Brittany's lap who was working her fingers through the knots in her dark ponytail.

"Hey," Brittany cooed softly after Santana gained full consciousness. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay. What happened?" Santana asked, trying to recall how they ended up on the couch.

"You passed out," Brittany explained. Santana's brow furrowed in thought as she tried to recall that moment. She remembered hearing about Puck. Then she vaguely remembers seeing how torn up people were. Then nothing. _I guess that's when it happened. _

"Huh," she said reflectively, "How long was I out?"

"Just a few minutes," Brittany replied as she smoothed out the lines in Santana's expression. "You look tired."

"Oh good she's awake," Bill Pierce said as he approached the couch. "How you feelin'?" he asked kindly.

"I'm fine," she said curtly, not liking the attention on her when Puck was lying on a hospital bed in a coma.

"Good," he smiled, understanding her curtness. "Look I need to ask you girls something, police stuff."

"Sure, what is it?" Brittany said as Santana sat up.

"Do you know of anyone that had any beef with Puck? Anyone that might've tried to hurt him?" he asked.

"What do you mean? This was an accident, right?" Brittany asked, side-eyeing Santana.

"It doesn't look that way sweetie. It looks like it was intentional," he said gently. Brittany turned to look at Santana incredulously but Santana kept her eyes trained on Mr. Pierce, remembering what she had told Brittany earlier. _Why did I have to open my damn mouth?_

"And since we can't ask him about it, we have to ask the people close to him. Santana, I know you two were pretty close. Did you know who could've done this?" Mr. Pierce asked.

"No, I don't know who did it. I wish I did. More than anything," she said gravely, staring back fiercely into his blue eyes. He nodded his head and gave them a tight-lipped smile before pushing himself off the ground.

"Can we see him?" Santana asked him anxiously.

"No he's back in surgery. It'll probably be awhile. You girls should go home. Get some sleep. He'll still be here tomorrow," he said gently before walking away to go talk to other members of the club. Santana could feel Brittany's stare on her still and knew she wanted answers. Answers that would get her killed.

"San, how did you-" Brittany began.

"Will you take me home?" Santana interrupted her, rising to her feet. Brittany looked up at her with an expression that made Santana's heart feel like someone had just torn it from her chest. Santana stared at the floor chewing on her lip as Brittany absorbed the hurt from Santana's actions.

"Sure, San," Brittany finally said quietly, rising to her feet as well. She wordlessly gathered up her purse and started towards the exit, Santana following behind her.

* * *

><p>Brittany was fighting back her tears as she walked to her car. Having Santana act so cold towards her had hit her pretty hard. It brought her back to the only other time Santana had treated her so coldy- the only time they had ever fought in their entire lives. She didn't know what it meant. But she didn't like it.<p>

They climbed into Brittany's car and drove silently out of the parking lot. Brittany was all too aware of the distance between their hands and the screaming silence that surrounded them during the duration of the drive. She was tired of overstepping and asking too many questions that resulted in lies and distance from Santana. She was done trying to figure out what was going on if it was going to drive a wedge between them. She would wait here silently until Santana wanted to let her in, however long it took.

She pulled up to Santana's house and threw the car into park. She took a sideways glance at Santana before resuming staring straight ahead. Santana was staring at her hands as she fidgeted with them. She seemed like she had something to say so Brittany waited patiently, hoping maybe she was finally going to let her in.

"I promised myself I would never hurt you," Santana began quietly, "And I can't be with you anymore without doing that," she finished sadly. Brittany turned to look at her, taking a while to process her words.

"What are you saying?" she asked finally, her heart dropping into her stomach. This wasn't what she was expecting at all.

"I'm saying I can't do this anymore, Brittany. No matter what I do, I end up hurting you," Santana said, her eyes tearing up.

"Then stop hurting me!" Brittany exclaimed tearfully. "Stop with the lies and the secrets and just tell me the truth!"

"I can't!" Santana cried back. She took a deep breath before continuing quietly. "And I don't want to. You're better off not knowing. And you're better off without me. You deserve to be happy and carefree and as much as i want to, I can't do that do that for you anymore. So I'm letting you go, to find someone that can," she said painfully, the tears finally breaking free and spilling over her cheeks.

"But I don't want anyone else! I can't love anyone else the way I love you," Brittany panicked. She felt like her whole world was being pulled away from her and she was desperately holding on for dear life. "You're my whole world, Santana. My best friend; my soulmate. There is no one else for me!" she stopped, unable to continue as she was overcome with sorrow.

"You say that now but just wait. You're going to meet someone that you'll love with all your heart and you're gonna get married and have a family and you're gonna be so incredibly happy Britt," Santana said earnestly, staring into Brittany's eyes.

"I can't love someone with all of my heart if my heart is with you. I could never stop loving you, Santana," Brittany hiccuped. Santana broke down, as the sobs broke free from her restraint and overtook her body.

"Please Brittany, just forget about me," she sobbed as she threw the door open and ran into the darkness.

And just like that she was gone.


	7. Still Hope

**A/N: **Hello lovelies! I apologize for the wait! Life kept getting in the way. But hey! How bout that finale, huh? Did anyone else want to douse themselves with lighter fluid and then light a match? I'm asking.

Anyways, as always thank you to my reviewers. You guys are awesome. And then of course to all those who favorited/alerted and all that jazz. This update was pretty hard to write but i hope you guys like it. Your inputs would be much appreciated so please review! Happy reading! :)

**-7-**

**Still Hope**

Santana ran into the night, letting it envelop her in it's darkness as she sprinted towards the front door. She felt like she was being ripped in two the farther she ran, tethered to the blonde in the car - her other half. More than anything she wished she could turn right back around and run into Brittany's arms. Tell her she was sorry and she didn't mean it. But instead she forced her legs to propel her forward until she was inside her house and slamming the door behind her. She fumbled with the buttons as she punched in the security code to silence the deafening alarm. As soon as she finished, her knees buckled and she fell against the wall for support as she slowly slumped down to the floor. She was now completely and utterly alone, stranded in her own hell. But at least she got Brittany out of it.

* * *

><p>Brittany didn't know much about hell, but she figured this was pretty close. She couldn't imagine much worse. She felt so betrayed and hurt. She had given Santana her whole heart completely only to have her crush it and tossed it aside. She clutched at the pain in her chest as she sobbed pitifully. Most of all she was just confused. She was completely blind-sided by the whole ordeal. How did it come to that? Last time she checked they still loved each other. When did things start to fall apart? She was too overwhelmed with sorrow to even try to think right now. It was hard enough trying to drive. All she knew was she just lost her whole life. And she couldn't do anything to stop it.<p>

* * *

><p>Santana couldn't stop crying even if she tried. It seemed like it had been hours. Breathing had become impossible. Instead she would choke on the little air that she did manage to heave between sobs, resulting in a coughing fit that would leave her desperately gasping for air. The cold house had swallowed her up in its emptiness, confining her in a prison of lonely misery. She was so exhausted from the day's events but she could only sit in a miserable crumpled heap on the polished tile, her mind unwilling to let her rest. She didn't want to feel anything anymore. She just wanted to sleep - to escape her reality if only for a little while.<p>

She dragged herself up off the floor and started heading towards her parent's room. She knocked roughly against the walls and furniture as she stumbled through the dark house until she reached her destination. She scrambled in the room and flipped the light on before striding towards the end table by the large, empty bed. She yanked the drawer open and shuffled around until she found what she was looking for. She pulled out her mother's sleeping pills, popped the lid open, and shook two pills out. She threw them in her mouth and tossed her head back to swallow them. She threw the bottle back into the drawer and shut it before leaving her parent's cold bedroom.

She dragged herself upstairs to her room and nudged her door open before entering and leaning back up against it to shut it. She stared at her empty room that was consumed in darkness besides the little stream of moonlight that had found it's way in. Santana followed the path of it's light to the empty space on her bed that would normally be occupied by Brittany. Santana wondered if she would ever be able to wake up next to her again. Maybe a week from now- or whenever- this will all be a bad dream, and her and Brittany will live happily ever after.

God, she missed her. She missed everything about her. And it hurt so much not to have her here with her; laughing and smiling at her with those beautiful clear blue eyes. She could almost feel her soft breath tickling her ear, whispering she loved her. She broke down in sobs once more as she threw herself off the door and shuffled over to the bed, stripping down to her tank and underwear. She pulled back the covers and collapsed onto the mattress, settling into her side of the bed. She stared across the bed at the empty pillow as the tears fell onto her own. She gingerly reached over and pulled Brittany's pillow over to her, wrapping it up in her arms. It smelled like her- that fruity floral smell that she loved so much. It was comforting. She closed her eyes and imagined Brittany was there with her until the pills took their effect and provided their escape.

* * *

><p>Hannah was tossing in her bed until she was pulled fully from her light sleep. She blinked dully into the darkness, not knowing what had woken her up. She was about to slip into unconsciousness again when she heard sobbing coming from the other side of the wall. Brittany. She wondered if it was about her friend. Hannah was asleep by the time Brittany came home so she didn't know what the update was. She lied there and listened for a while, seeing if Brittany was going stop, until she concluded she wasn't stopping anytime soon. It hurt her heart to hear her big sister crying alone like that.<p>

She slid out of her bed and tiptoed out into the hallway, stopping in front of Brittany's door. She could hear Brittany's sobs more clearly now, and wondered how long she had been crying before she had woken up. She placed a light hand on the doorknob and twisted carefully, making as little noise as possible. She eased the door open silently and squinted into the room. Brittany's small night-light was on which meant Santana wasn't with her. She only used it when she slept alone. She could make out Brittany's curled up form on the bed, her back facing the door. Hannah proceeded to the edge of the bed and crawled quietly onto the comforter before stretching out a comforting hand, placing it lightly on Brittany's shoulder. But before she could ask if she was okay, Brittany spoke abruptly.

"San?" she cried hopefully with a hint of desperation as she wheeled around to find Hannah sitting there instead. "Oh," was all she got out before a new wave of tears burst from her swollen eyes. Hannah didn't know how to proceed after that since she just made things worse. She should've just stayed in her room.

"I'm sorry, Britt. It's just I heard you crying and you sounded like you were really hurting so I wanted to come over here and make you feel better but now I'm just making things worse and I'm really sorry I'll just go," she rambled in one long sentence. She started scooting off the bed until she felt a light tug on her wrist.

"No, stay. Please," Brittany said quietly in between hiccups. "I don't want to be alone."

Hannah wordlessly pulled back the covers and slipped underneath their warmth. She heard Lord Tubbington purring softly, tucked comfortably into Brittany's side. Once she had settled in, she cupped Brittany's hand with both of hers and gave her a small smile. Brittany only let out a weary sigh in return. She paused and cleared her throat before speaking again.

"Santana broke up with me," she said quietly. Hannah's brow furrowed in confusion. She must not have heard right. She thought this was about her friend in the hospital.

"Wait, what?" she asked. Brittany just closed her eyes, unable to repeat it, as a glistening tear slid down her cheek to add to the already tear-stained pillow. Santana's pillow, Hannah realized. Santana used the darker pillow. Hannah was stunned. Never in a million years did she think this would happen. The two have been inseparable since they were eight. Santana's pretty much been around Hannah's whole life. She was her big sister just as much as Brittany was. And now what? She's just gone?

"Wait but we'll still see her right? I mean it's Santana. She's family! She can't just leave us! She has to- she can't-" Hannah panicked as her eyes started welling up with tears as well. Santana wouldn't just abandon her family would she? She can't. They'd miss her too much. Brittany started getting emotional again, making Hannah realized she wasn't helping. She took deep breaths to steady her emotions.

"I'm so sorry, Han," Brittany said tearfully. "It's all my fault, I drove her away. I asked too many questions. Why did I ask so many questions?" she asked herself fiercely.

"Wait, what do you mean?" Hannah asked. She figured it had to be something big to break those two up, and asking to many questions didn't seem to fit the bill. Unless maybe Santana was cheating and Brittany had caught on and then started asking questions. "Did San cheat on you?"

"No, no, course not," Brittany returned fervently.

"Well then what happened?" Hannah inquired earnestly.

"I don't know!" she replied, bewildered. "Something changed. Santana changed. But only sometimes, then other times everything was fine. This morning everything was great. We were eating breakfast and I was singing "Disco Duck" and-"

"What do you mean she changed?" Hannah interjected, wanting to figure this out for Brittany and herself.

"She just seems... scared. But only sometimes. Every other time she's normal Santana," she furrowed her brow in deep thought. "Her house. She gets scared when she's at her house. And she said there was something going on but she wouldn't tell me what.." Brittany trailed off. Hannah was as confused as ever, but she was sure of one thing.

"Well you can't just let her go then," Hannah said assertively. "If something's going on with her she needs you now more than ever," Brittany mulled it over for awhile before a hopeful smile spread across her face.

"Yeah you're right!" she said with new fervor. "When I see her tomorrow I'm gonna tell her I'm denying her break up!" Hannah chuckled at her sudden intensity.

"Thanks, Han," Brittany said, smiling softly.

"Anytime, Sis," she returned.

Then finally, they drifted off.

* * *

><p>Santana was lying in her bed hugging Brittany's pillow. She felt numb. She recalled the events of the day before. All the tears and sobs. But now she just felt numb - hollow. But she welcomed it. Anything other than the pain and anguish she felt last night.<p>

She wondered how Brittany was doing. Did she sleep okay? Would she be at school? Would she hate her? That would be best, Santana concluded. It would be easier for both of them that way. She got out bed and went downstairs to put on her coffee. She was in dire need of it this morning.

She dragged her feet down the hallway and down the stairs to the kitchen where her dad was filling his cup.

"Morning, Papi," she mumbled, rubbing her eyes.

"Good morning, Santana," he said. He finished filling his cup and turned around to face his daughter, his eyes immediately filling with concern. "Are you feeling okay, mija?"

"I'm fine. Just a rough night. One of my friends was in an accident and-"

"Oh that's right. Puckerman, verdad?" he asked. Santana just nodded in response. "I thought I recognized him. He's one of my patients," he finished.

"He is? How's he doing?" she asked earnestly.

"Well he's still in a coma," he said. Santana's gaze sunk down to the floor. "Hey. Don't ever lose hope, cariña. It's what keeps us alive," he added as he lifted her chin up with his hand and gazed deeply in her eyes.

"I love you, Papi," Santana braved. It had been awhile since she'd told him that- about a year perhaps. This show of affection was not a common occurrence with her father so Santana seized the moment. She figured he should hear it at least one more time before..

"I love you too, Santana," he returned tenderly before placing a light kiss on the top of her head. "I'll see you later. Have a good day," he said before grabbing his coffee and continuing on his way out the door.

* * *

><p>"Okay you can do this," Brittany encouraged herself as she waited by Santana's locker. She could hardly wait to get to school this morning so she could tell Santana that they could be together. That they needed to be together. She bounced on the balls of her feet as she waited impatiently for Santana to show up. She wondered if she would show up at all. She wondered what kind of night she had. If it was as bad as hers. Brittany had Hannah but Santana didn't have anyone. She was all alone.<p>

A few minutes later, she saw Santana round the corner and look towards her locker. Deep brown eyes locked with clear blue ones and Santana immediately froze on the spot. Everyone around them moved in a blur as they stayed there staring at each other for what seemed like minutes instead of seconds. But then she quickly retreated back into the mass, not even glancing back.

* * *

><p>She walked quickly away from the sight of Brittany and those blue eyes that pierced her soul. Not a word needed to be said in that exchange, Santana could see it all in those eyes. They were pleading and hopeful. She wasn't going to let Santana go easily. Not that Santana could blame her. She would fight like hell if the roles were reversed. She'd tie her to her fucking bed if it came down to it. But she didn't know how much of a fight she would have against Brittany. So the best and easiest thing for her to do is to just avoid her completely. Especially when she's waiting by her locker. She realized this morning that she left the box in there. She would have to take care of that today.<p>

She got through half of the day successfully avoiding Brittany. She took different routes than normal to each class so as not to cross paths with Brittany and went off-campus for lunch. Though it killed her not to see her, it hurt even more when she did. But now it was time for glee club.

She walked in hesitantly. Brittany was looking at her with those pleading eyes motioning for her to sit next to her, but instead she kept walking to the other side of the room, sitting between Sugar and Mercedes.

* * *

><p>"Whoa. What's going on with you two? You guys never fight," Quinn said. Brittany released a tired sigh before answering.<p>

"We uh- we broke up last night," she replied sullenly.

"What?" Quinn asked in stunned disbelief. "What happened?"

"I don't really want to talk about it," Brittany said, still stinging from Santana's behavior. She just wanted to talk to her but Santana was making that impossible.

"But-" Quinn began, but stopped when she saw the hurt in Brittany's eyes. "...Okay. Well you know I'm here for you. Always," she said gently.

"Thanks, Quinn," Brittany returned gratefully with a small smile. She glanced over towards Santana and caught her eye briefly before Santana quickly averted her eyes.

The choir room filled up quickly and soon all the chairs were filled- except for one. The bell rang overhead and everyone glanced at the empty chair in dismay as Mr. Schue walked in the room that had now fallen deadly silent.

"I'm not really sure what to say. There's really not much that I can say other than don't give up on him. If there's one thing that can be said about Puck it's that he's a fighter. And he's gonna pull through this. If there's anything you would like to sing for Puck, the floor is all yours," he said before taking a seat.

As soon as he sat down, Quinn rose from her seat and walked towards the center of the room and a slow melody filled the sullen room.

I'll sing it one last time for you  
>Then we really have to go<br>You've been the only thing that's right  
>In all I've done<p>

And I can barely look at you  
>But every single time I do<br>I know we'll make it anywhere  
>Away from here<p>

Light up, light up  
>As if you have a choice<br>Even if you cannot hear my voice  
>I'll be right beside you dear<p>

Louder louder  
>And we'll run for our lives<br>I can hardly speak I understand  
>Why you can't raise your voice to say<p>

To think I might not see those eyes  
>Makes it so hard not to cry<br>And as we say our long goodbye  
>I nearly do<p>

Light up, light up  
>As if you have a choice<br>Even if you cannot hear my voice  
>I'll be right beside you dear<p>

Louder louder  
>And we'll run for our lives<br>I can hardly speak I understand  
>Why you can't raise your voice to say<p>

Slower slower  
>We don't have time for that<br>All I want's to find an easy way  
>To get out of our little heads<p>

Have heart, my dear  
>We're bound to be afraid<br>Even if it's just for a few days  
>Making up for all this mess<p>

Light up, light up  
>As if you have a choice<br>Even if you cannot hear my voice  
>I'll be right beside you dear<p>

As she finished, a single tear slid down her cheek before she took her seat once more. Brittany reached over and squeezed her hand, earning her a small smile in return.

After that, other members of the club got up and sang their tributes to Puck until the bell sounded overhead.

Santana immediately jumped up and strode out the door. She was already two feet out the door when Brittany's called out for her. But she didn't stop.

"Damn, Britt. What did you to to her?" Quinn asked as they watched the Latina disappear into the crowd without a backwards glance. Brittany heaved a sigh.

"I don't know," she said sadly as she shuffled away with downcast eyes. How was she supposed to convince Santana to take her back if she couldn't even get her to talk to her? She needed a new plan. A hopeful smile graced her features as she came up with an idea.

* * *

><p>Economics passed about as painfully as a gallstone. Mr. Hawkins moved her up to the front row due to the incident yesterday so she didn't have the distraction of her cell phone to get her through the class. So she was stuck watching and listening to Mr. Hawkins, with his bad toupee and monotone, talk about money deficits. It was like listening to a lecture on cardboard while eating dry oatmeal.<p>

After a long hour, the bell finally sounded overhead and she bolted out the door. As she approached the locker room doors, Quinn emerged from the coach's office, adorned in a crisp Cheerios uniform.

"What the hell?" Santana said, surprised. She hadn't heard anything about Quinn being let back on the squad, and she hadn't been wearing a uniform all day. She was shocked Sue even let her back on after she just quit like she did.

"Mouth closed, Lopez. It's not a good look for you," Quinn said with a wink as she sashayed past her. Santana collected herself and followed her into the locker room. She didn't like this. Quinn was her homegirl, but Santana liked her best when she wasn't threatening her social status. Being the top bitches at school, they shared a mutual respect for each other. Her and Brittany met Quinn when they got into middle school. Santana had deemed her acceptable enough to be their friend because she was almost as fierce as Santana. And thus the Unholy Trinity was born. But they were always in a constant competition of superiority. After Quinn took a turn for the psycho bitch and quit the Cheerios, she never really came back from that. So their relationship became much easier because she was no longer a threat. And because of that, they were able to form a relationship they would never have been able to form otherwise. Now Santana was wondering how this change would affect their new relationship.

"So what did you have to do to get back on the squad, Fabray?" Santana asked curiously as she leaned against her locker. The rest of the squad was gradually trickling in as they spoke.

"Practically nothing. I went in, said my piece, Coach thought about it for a while, then told me I was back in yesterday. She even took my uniform to the cleaners herself last night," she replied boastfully as she smoothed it out. Santana faked a sweet smile right as she saw Brittany start to march up to her out of the corner of her eye.

"Alright bitches! Get your shit and get your asses outside! We're conditioning today!" she yelled, earning a collective groan from her Cheerios. She turned quickly and left in the direction of the track field before Brittany could reach her.

Practice was fairly satisfying as she watched her squad suffer in the unrelenting heat. That was until Becky stepped in and Santana was forced to join them. This co-captain nonsense was shit. She cursed under her breath as she ran to join the squad on the bleachers.

* * *

><p>Brittany was dying. Her sweat stung her eyes as it streaked down her face and her body was screaming at her to stop. She didn't even notice Santana was no longer yelling at them until she heard Becky's noticeably less powerful voice yelling through the megaphone. She searched the bleachers for the dark-haired Latina until she spotted her at the top steps. She heaved ragged breaths as she picked up her pace to catch up to her.<p>

"Santana," she gasped once she was a step behind her, "please talk to me."

"I'm a little busy, Brittany," Santana panted out in response. Before Brittany could think of a response, Santana picked up her pace and left Brittany struggling in her wake.

After another fifteen minutes of bleachers, Becky blew her whistle and told them to get a drink. Brittany gratefully followed the rest of the squad down to the track to cool off. She watched Santana as she grabbed a water bottle and walked over to converse with Becky.

"Stop staring," Quinn said as she walked up behind her. "You look like an abandoned puppy."

"I can't help it. I am an abandoned puppy," Brittany replied hopelessly before taking large gulps of water. "I just want to talk to her," she sighed.

"Well you can talk to me if you want," Quinn offered kindly. Brittany looked at her friend, deciding she wanted to tell her. But before she could start, Santana yelled at them to circle around for push-up and sit up intervals. They did that for another ten minutes until they were finally released to go shower.

"Are you busy now?" Brittany asked innocently as she shuffled up to Santana on their walk back.

"God Brittany. What? What do you want?" Santana asked, wheeling around to face her. Brittany froze up, not expecting such hostility from the smaller girl.

"I just- I wanted to- I don't think-," she stammered timidly.

"Look Brittany, it's over. We are over. I'm sorry if I wasn't clear before. I don't want to see you. I don't want to talk. So please, just leave me alone and move on," she said firmly, turning back around and continuing on her way before the lump in her throat manifested as tears. She was harsher than she wanted to be but Brittany was being so fucking persistent. She had no choice. She just wanted to get her shower in and leave.

Brittany was glued to the spot, Santana's words taking their toll as her eyes filled with unshed tears. She didn't even want to see her? What in the world had she done to deserve that?

"You okay?" Quinn asked softly, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"No," Brittany replied with a sniffle. Quinn sighed.

"Alright then. You are coming to my house and we're gonna have a foursome with Ben and Jerry and wallow in self-pity together. Okay?" she said brightly as they started walking again.

"Thanks, Q, but I'm not really in the mood for a foursome right now. Plus that Ben guy smells really bad so I'm gonna pass," Brittany said sadly. Quinn chuckled.

"Ben and Jerry as in the ice cream, Britt. Just me, you.. and ice cream," Quinn explained with a smile. Brittany brightened a little at the mention of ice cream.

"Okay," she agreed with a small smile on her lips.

* * *

><p>Santana finished her business quickly and was out of the locker room in no time. She walked briskly down the hall until she came to her locker. She glanced around the empty hallway before opening her locker, exposing the wooden box. She snatched it out quickly and stuffed it in her gym bag before slamming her locker shut and continuing on her way.<p>

She reached the hospital several minutes later. It was the only place she wanted to be right now. She couldn't go home to that empty house. And she couldn't go to Brittany's. So this seemed like her best option.

She asked the nurse at the desk where she could find Puck's room and then she made her way over. She entered the room slowly, staring wide-eyed at all the tubes and wires that were connecting him to the machines that were keeping him alive. She hesitated in the doorway for a moment before finally stepping inside. He looked awful. His right arm was in a cast pretty much to his shoulder. He was covered in bandages from various gashes; his body was swollen with bruises. His face was bruised and scraped heavily on his right side and his head was wrapped with white bandages.

"Awh, Puck. They shaved your mohawk," she said with a sad smile as she looked him over. "Well.. don't worry. I'll kick their asses for you," she said as she pulled up a chair and sat down. She laid her hand on top of his mangled one as she continued to study his face.

"Can you hear me?" she asked, gazing at his face for any sign of confirmation. But he just laid there, his chest rising and falling with the aid of the machine.

"I'm so sorry Puck," she said as her eyes welled up with sorrow and guilt, "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have dragged you into this. I didn't know. I was so stupid." The tears started flowing freely down her face as she spoke and she buried her face in the bed and cried for endless minutes.

"I'm next," she breathed once she had gotten a hold of herself. "That's what I was gonna tell you last night... I'm next. And it's so frustrating because I can't do a damn thing about it. I can't fight it, as much as it's killing me not to, because then the people I love suffer for it. And I can't keep anyone close because I'm afraid they'll find out somehow like you did or get caught in the crossfires. So the only thing I can do is sit here and wait. I feel so fucking helpless.. and hopeless," she dissolved into tears once more, retreating into her own inner turmoil. There had to be something she could do.

"Well... I suppose the one thing I can do is be prepared for when he comes for me," she realized as she lifted her head, a small light sparking in the darkness of mind. _Maybe there's still hope for me yet._


	8. Change in the Wind

Okay lovelies. This one is a shorter chapter but I felt like that was a good place to end it. That and I might be going on a fairly long hiatus depending on how a few things go in the next couple of weeks so I really wanted to give y'all something before then.

Anyways I hope you like this chapter. It's a little less depressing and a little more upbeat. So read, enjoy, review? ;)

* * *

><p><strong>-8-<strong>

**Change in the Wind**

"What do you mean you don't have any gummy bears?" Brittany asked Quinn incredulously. "How can we have our sad ice cream party without gummy bears? That's like having a pizza party without M&M'S, Quinn."

"Well we have other stuff like marshmallows," Quinn tried but only got a eyebrow lift in response. "Chocolate chips?.. Sprinkles?.. Skittles?" Brittany lit up in response to the last option and so it was settled. They fixed up their ice cream and took it upstairs to Quinn's room.

Quinn lived in the same neighborhood as Santana so her house was also super nice. Her and her mom were set up pretty nicely after the divorce settlement and now Judy was serious with some big-shot lawyer who moved in a few months ago. Brittany hadn't been around him much but she didn't really like him, though Quinn seemed to like him just fine. He just doesn't seem to have a laugh and uses big words Brittany doesn't understand.

As soon as they got into her room, Brittany set her ice cream down on the desk and pulled out a box of crayons and a drawing pad from her backpack. Quinn just looked on in amusement as she then transferred everything to the bed and plopped down on her stomach.

"What are you doing?" Quinn asked curiously.

"I'm drawing Santana a note," she answered simply as she picked out a green crayon. "This way she doesn't have to see me or talk to me but I can still tell her how I feel," she finished firmly.

"That's very clever, Britt," Quinn commended her before putting a spoonful of ice cream in her mouth. "So are finally gonna fill me in?"

"I don't really know what to tell you, Quinn. We just broke up," Brittany said scooping up a Skittle.

"Well okay. But why?" Quinn pressed. Brittany just shrugged sadly in response. "Well what did she say?"

"She said she couldn't be with me without hurting me," Brittany recalled, looking into her bowl.

"Classic Santana," Quinn said quietly as she shook her head. Brittany just looked up at her questioningly. "Come on. You know San. Always pushing people away, putting up her walls. Though it's strange she's pushing you away... It's usually just everyone else," she said thoughtfully.

"Well what do I do? What do you do?" Brittany asked, knowing Quinn has had experience being behind Santana's walls.

"Well, of course your relationship with her is different than mine and hers. But just let her know that you love her no matter what," Quinn offered with a smile which Brittany returned. She put the finishing touches on her drawing and eyed it carefully before smiling approvingly. Then she flipped the paper over and tapped it with her crayon as she brainstormed on what to write. A few moments later, her face sparked with life.

"I've got it!" she exclaimed excitedly before she started writing out the headline in bolded letters. Quinn just looked on and smiled while she worked.

* * *

><p>"That's it, Puck! That's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna start training and prepare myself. If I'm going down, you bet your ass I'm gonna go down swinging," Santana said with new life in her eyes.<p>

"Oh hi, Santana," Puck's mother said from the doorframe. Santana wheeled around in surprise.

"Hi, Mrs. Puckerman," she replied anxiously, wiping furiously at some lingering tears. She wondered how much she overheard.

"Oh please, call me Rhonda," she said with a small smile, which Santana returned. "How are you doing, honey?" Rhonda asked kindly, concern filling her eyes. Santana realized she probably looked like a mess after the big sob fest she had moments earlier. The last thing she wanted was for Puck's mom to feel sorry for her when she was the reason her son was even here.

"Oh I'm fine," she said assuredly, forcing a smile. That only seemed to increase the line of worry between Mrs. Puckerman's eyebrows. Santana was surprised by her concern. Rhonda never really liked Santana back when her and Puck dated. But she didn't blame her. She didn't really like who she was back then either.

"It's okay to let people in, Santana. People need people," Rhonda said, her own pain showing in her eyes. Santana sighed, realizing Rhonda needed someone to talk to, and decided it was the least she could do.

"It's just hard seeing him like this, you know?" Santana said, preparing herself for what was coming. Sure enough, that was all it took for Mrs. Puckerman to let out all the sorrow she was holding in as Santana listened, feeling more and more guilty with every word and tear that was shed.

After a while she excused herself and got up to leave, unable to take anymore. Any longer and she would've broken down in an ugly guilt-cry and spilt her guts about everything.

"Santana?" Rhonda said as she emerged from the Kleenex she had been buried in for the past twenty minutes. Santana turned to look back at her from the doorway. "Remember what I said; it's okay to let people in." Santana offered a tight-lipped smile in response before turning to leave. _If only she knew the irony of that statement_, she thought to herself.

She walked to her car briskly, trying to decide how to proceed with her new plan. She was already in great shape so she wanted to focus on fighting skills. She could hold her own in a bitch fight but she knew she would be way out of her league up against a cold-blooded killer.

As she drove around town in search of a boxing club of some sort, she came across a place called Lima Fight Club. She figured that sounded promising so she parked her car and strode in.

* * *

><p>"Girls, dinner is ready!" Judy Fabray called from the bottom of the staircase.<p>

"Perfect timing. Done," Brittany said happily, holding up her paper proudly with a wide grin on her face.

"It's perfect, Britt. She's gonna love it," Quinn said with a smile.

"I hope so. Now let's eat!" she said happily, jumping off the bed with her empty ice cream bowl in hand.

"We're gonna have to work our asses off tomorrow after all this," Quinn groaned as she got up as well.

They entered the dining room to find Judy and Frank sitting at opposite heads of the table. The girls sat down next to each other in the middle of the large table.

"Oh hello, Brittany. It's nice to see you," Frank said with a pleasant smile. Frank was a charmer. And really good-looking. He was like a younger George Clooney.

"Nice to see you too, Mr. Hansen," Brittany said politely.

"Brittany, how many times have I told you? It's Frank," he said with a broad smile. Brittany felt that he tried too hard sometimes. Everything he did seemed forced.

"Right. Sorry Frank," she said with a thin smile.

"Shall we say grace?" Judy asked brightly once everyone was settled in.

"Yes. I will do the honors," Frank announced before offering the prayer.

After the prayer they all served up their plates with salad, spaghetti, and garlic bread and dove in.

"Oh, Judy. This is sublime! As usual," Frank said with a dashing smile in her direction.

"Yeah, Mom. It's delicious. Thank you," Quinn added in and Brittany added a thank you as well.

"Well I'm glad you all like it," she beamed. "How was everyone's day?" she asked brightly.

"Well work went smoothly accept that my client is an insufferable piece of shit, pardon my French," he said, directing the last part towards the girls.

"I didn't know that was French," Brittany said quietly to Quinn as Frank started rambling on about what his client did. Quinn just looked at Brittany with an amused smile.

"It's just a saying, Britt. It's not really French," Quinn explained softly.

"...Well that's a dumb saying," Brittany decided after thinking it over.

"You're right. It kind of is," Quinn agreed with a chuckle.

"...So then i just said, 'You know what Rodney? If you don't like the way I handle my dealings, there's the door. And don't let it hit you on the way out,'" Frank finished, earning a surprised chuckle from Judy.

"Goodness Frank. If you keep going like that you won't be getting anymore clients," Judy said.

"Nah they'll keep coming to me because they know I'm the best," he replied with a wink. "Which reminds me I have a new case I need to review so I'll be going back to the office once I finish up here."

"Again? You just barely got home," Judy said forlornly.

"Darling, we've talked about this. You know I would like nothing more than to be here but I have a lot going on at work right now," he said impatiently but softly all the same.

"I know, I know. I understand," Judy said submissively.

"Good. Now tell me about this new charity of yours," he said brightly.

They continued with their light conversations throughout the course of their dinner. Judy talked about the charity her and her girlfriends started up for children with special needs and Quinn and Brittany talked about school, mostly Cheerios and Glee Club.

When they finished, Frank took off, leaving the girls to help Judy clean up.

"You okay, Mom?" Quinn asked, noticing her mother's uncharacteristic silence.

"Of course, honey," Judy said with a smile. "You know you girls don't have to help me. I know you want to go visit Puck and the sun won't wait for you," she said.

Quinn glanced at the large clock on the wall. It was a little after seven o'clock. Her mother was right, they didn't want to get back too late and Quinn had been wanting to go see him all day.

"Yeah you're right. We'd better go. Thanks again for dinner, Mom," Quinn said as she set down the plates she was holding.

"Yeah thanks, Judy!" Brittany said as the girls exited the dining room, eager to go visit Puck.

* * *

><p>As Santana entered the gym she immediately became aware of the musty smell of body odor and sweat. She scrunched her nose in disgust before looking around the facility. It was fairly big. There was a boxing ring in the middle of the building. Surrounding it were various punching bags and pads. In the back there was a variety of weight lifting machines and the wall was lined with mirrors and cubbyholes.<p>

"Can I help you?" said a deep voice to her left. She turned to see a big bald dude with tattoos covering each of his arms staring at her from behind the front desk.

"Umm yes. I'd like to get a membership here," she said.

"This is an exclusive club. Do you have a recommendation?" he asked with no expression to his face.

"It's okay Mac. She's with me," a voice called out. She turned in the direction of the voice to see Sam Evans jogging up to them.

"Trouty Mouth?" she asked in surprise. He just grinned in response before Mac nodded and waved them off.

"Thanks for the save," Santana said gratefully as they started walking.

"No problem. Though I am surprised to see you here," he said looking at her expectantly for an explanation.

"Well maybe I wanna learn how to be even more of a bad-ass than I already am," she said with a cocky grin.

Sam shook his head as he chuckled lightly. "So you want to learn how to fight?" he asked.

"Yup," Santana said, looking around for an instructor.

"Well then look no further," he said with his boyish grin.

Santana raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you get your ass handed to you by Karovsky last year?"

"Well that was a long time ago. I've gained a lot more skill and experience since then," Sam replied sheepishly.

"Yeah well no offense Rocky, but I want someone who actually knows what they're doing," Santana said.

Sam eyed her for a moment before speaking. "Look over there on the wall," he said, pointing to the wall nearest to them. Santana followed where he was directing and saw a large whiteboard with a list of names in numerical order and statistics next to them. She searched the board until she found what he was pointing to at all the way at the number one spot with a 21-7 record. She turned back to look at him. He looked at her with a proud grin on his face.

"Sam I Am? That's the boxing name you went with?" Santana asked scornfully. His grin faltered slightly but he didn't respond. "Whatever. Let's see what you've got Sam I Am," she said, deciding to give him a shot.

"Okay! Now. First rule of Fight Club is: you do not talk about Fight Club," Sam said imitating Brad Pitt as he put his gear on. Santana just stared at him dully, causing him to refrain from finishing the rest. Instead he cleared his throat and began.

"Alright. How much do you know about boxing? Do you know the basic punches like hooks, crosses, uppercuts, all that?" he asked.

"Yeah I know what they look like. I haven't really done them though," she replied.

"Okay well that's good though, as long as you know what they are we can jump right in," he said. "Okay we're gonna do some dirty street fighting 'cause I think that's more your style. Sound good?"

"Sounds perfect," she replied, starting to get excited.

"Okay in dirty boxing, a lot of the times the goal is to get your finger in his eye so you can hit him. So what you're going to do is when I throw a jab, you're just gonna parry and then reach across with your other arm and jab me in the eye. Are you following?" he asked. She nodded intently, soaking in everything he was saying. "Okay. Then once you do that, you're going to follow up with a cross, a body hook, head hook, cross, and then you're gonna grab onto his head and give him a left knee. So it's going to look like this. Here throw me a punch," he said. Santana did as he said and threw a light punch at him before he parried it and mock-jabbed her in the eye then slowly proceeded with the string of punches that followed, explaining as he went.

"Okay now you try," he said before faux-punching her and she proceeded with the steps as he gave her tips and directions. "Okay that was good. Try it again and this time lay it on me. Well except the eye jabbing," he said before putting some boxing pads on his hands.

They continued with the technique for a while until she got it down perfectly.

"Okay great. That's really good," Sam said, shaking off his pads and wiping some sweat off of his forehead with the back of his hand. "Okay another thing you can do that's really simple is to slap him over the ear. Like real martial arts style slap. You want to have an open hand like this, and swing your arm around like this and make contact. And make sure that when you do it, you get the whole of your arm into it like this," he said before demonstrating once more. "And if he has a hold of you from the front like this," he said as he wrapped his arms tightly around her waist, "all you have to do is bring that hand around and pop him in the side of the head. Yeah just like that," he said as she brought her hand around and placed it over his ear. "And you could do it a couple times or even attack both sides at the same time. Yeah perfect. That ones real simple, you've already got it," he said.

"Okay now I'm gonna change course and do some self-defense."

They went on for a good hour and a half until they were both exhausted and covered in sweat. After going over a shit load of self-defense techniques, they both decided to call it a day.

"You did very well, Santana. I'm impressed," Sam complimented as they walked towards the front door.

"Well I am equally impressed with you. You are quite the teacher, Sam. Thank you," she said sincerely, beyond grateful for his help.

"You are very welcome," he replied as they walked outside. "You know, I'm here everyday from like six to nine if you want to learn some more. I'd be happy to teach you," he said genuinely.

"Really? Yeah that'd be great!" she said excitedly as she approached her car.

"Okay cool. So I'll see you tomorrow then. I mean like here, not at school. But I'll see you at school too, of course," Sam said awkwardly as he slowly walked backwards towards his own car.

Santana chuckled as she slipped into her seat. "Stop talking before you blow a fuse. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Oh and Santana!" he called out as she was about to close her car door. She looked up at him expectantly. "May the force be with-" he had said in a mock-Hans Solo voice before Santana rolled her eyes and shut her car door. She shook her head and chuckled as she put her keys in the ignition and her car roared to life.

She felt good as she drove home. She felt rejuvenated and alive as the wind whipped her sweat-streaked face through her open windows. She felt like there was a change in the wind. She would no longer be helpless. She would be ready.

She pulled up to her house several minutes later and parked her car. She saw the wooden box as soon as she stepped out of her car. But she was no longer afraid of it. She strutted up to her doorstep, scooped up the box, and walked inside without batting an eye.

"Ooo I wonder what it could be," she said into the empty house as she put in the security code. "You know your scare tactics are officially old, asshole," she called out, pretending he could hear her.

She walked into the front room and sat down on the couch before opening the small latch. She pulled out the note, revealing four fingers, and read the small print. _Four severed fingers, one wooden case; A cat, a mouse, now a promising chase. _

"So you were watching me kick ass today, huh?" she said as she closed the box. "Yeah we'll see about that cat and mouse game. You might be the one running you son of a bitch," She opened her gym bag, pulled out the box from her locker, and carried both boxes to the backyard. She buried them next to the other two before going back inside. It was 9:38 now and she was sufficiently tired from the day so she dragged herself upstairs and straight to the shower. She had been so busy and focused that she hadn't really had time to miss Brittany. But now that things were quiet, that's all she did. But instead of feeling sorry for herself and her situation, she used it as motivation. There was nothing she wanted more than Brittany. And she'd be damned if she let some psycho with a finger fetish prevent them from being together. _Game on motherfucker_.


End file.
